Zambia rejects Glencore copper mine's suspension plan
LUSAKA - Glencore's Zambia subsidiary Mopani Copper Mines on Thursday said the country's mines ministry rejected its proposal to suspend operations because of low copper prices and disruptions caused by the coronavirus crisis.
Mopani said it would appeal against the decision and will continue mining operations pending the outcome of the appeal process.
Operations were halted at its mines at the start of April, with Mopani citing the Covid-19 pandemic and other problems, but mining resumed a month later after the decision sparked a backlash from the Zambian government.
"Mopani remains of the belief that the only way to protect the company's value and preserve the option to deliver its growth projects when conditions further improve is to transition the operations to C&M (care and maintenance)," it said on Thursday.
Zambia's mines minister, Richard Musukwa, said the government had made it clear from the beginning that it wants Mopani to continue and said he was happy Mopani had "responded favourably" to his call not to place the mine under care and maintenance.
Musukwa said that Mopani has cut the number of expatriates working at the mine from 94 to 49 and the company will address concerns over what he described as its high cost of production.
"We are open to dialogue because we want what's best for the people of Zambia and Mopani is strategic to economic trajectory," he said.
Mopani Copper Mines, which produced 119,000 tonnes of copper in 2018, is 73.1% owned by Glencore, 16.9% by First Quantum Minerals and 10% by Zambia's mining investment arm ZCCM-IH.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation