Africa-Press – Zambia. Kitwe’s Kamfinsa Member of Parliament Christopher Kang’ombe is asking the Government to recapitalise Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) on the Copperbelt. The Government last year through ZCCM- IH acquired the majority shares in Mopani at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion.
Glencore, the private majority shareholders, used to declare losses while continuously cutting the labour force. Eng. Kang’ombe said constant re-investment in Mopani is needed to keep operations running at a profit.
He said Mopani which has operations in Kitwe and Mufulira is a highly mechanized operation that needs urgent investment. Eng. Kang’ombe added that investment in Mopani will ensure that suppliers and contractors engaged by the mining firm are paid on time to keep production up.
The Kamfinsa Member of Parliament is the Patriotic Front (PF) National Youth Chairman who worked for Mopani as a trainee Engineer from the Copperbelt University around 2009. Eng. Kang’ombe added that Zambian engineers have been running Mopani well since the Government became majority shareholder.
“According to the Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) website, the company employs 15,500 workers. In 2021; a decision was taken by the government through ZCCM- IH to acquire the majority shares in MCM at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion. Previously, Glencore the private majority shareholders would always blackmail the government by threatening Zambians with job losses around election time in the name of care and maintenance, while placing other demands on the table. The claim was that no profit was ever made from 2000 when they took over Nkana and Mufulira divisions of ZCCM,” Eng. Kang’ombe said in a media statement.
“Consequently, no dividend was ever declared to the respective shareholders. For over two years now, MCM has been well run by Zambian engineers. But as we all know, mining is a very expensive business. Constant re- investment is needed in order for the Engineers to keep operations running at a profit.MCM is highly mechanised and therefore needs urgent recapitalization to ensure Suppliers and Contractors are always paid on time to keep production up,” Eng. Kang’ombe added.
Shareholders in ZCCM-IH have overwhelmingly supported its acquisition of a 90% stake in Mopani Copper Mines (MCM). Swiss firm Glencore agreed the sale of its majority stake in Mopani to ZCCM-IH in a $1.5 billion deal in January, 2021.
At the time of this deal, then ZCCM-IH Chief Executive Mabvuto Chipata said with increased ownership, ZCCM-IH would now be an active participant in the global industry as copper becomes a critical metal.
ZCCM-IH had said it expected to find a new investor for Mopani by the end of the year 2021 as it looked to boost copper output from a little more than 34,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes.
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