This is from the Zambian times:
Regards
Dan
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Front Page Of Zambian Times-First Quantum Wins Bid
Quantum wins mines bid
By JOE CHILAIZYA
THE consortium of First Quantum Minerals (FQM) of Canada and Glencore
International AG has been awarded Nkana and Mufulira mining divisions,
company chairman Philip Pascall has said.
Mr Pascall said the award of assets was subject to the successful
conclusion of negotiations and the conclusion of a definitive agreement
with ZCCM.
Nkana has been given to FQM and its partners without the smelter and
refinery, but the Mufulira package includes the concentrator, smelter and
refinery N one of the best in the region.
The Nkana smelter and refinery went to Anglo- American Corporation (AAC)
which was given an option to manage the facility for three years.
The announcement comes soon after the ZCCM/GRZ privatisation negotiating
team chairman Francis Kaunda wrote to FQM informing them of the decision by
Government to award them the two assets.
The sale of the two major assets has brought relief to the miners and
affected parties who have been anxious about the future of the two mines.
Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) general secretary Ernest Mutale has
welcomed the deal saying it will ease the uncertainty and tension that had
been building among mine workers at the two mines.
"It is the best deal the miners and Zambians have ever had in the
privatisation of the mines," he said.
Mr Mutale said there was a serious concern that Nkana was rendered
unattractive by the demarcation of its smelter and refinery and MUZ felt
bidders would be scared away.
"But the Government has hammered out a very good deal in which FQM and its
partners also have a smelter and refinery. That is excellent," he said.
Consolidated Lighting (Z) managing director Humphrey Mulenga, a Kitwe-based
mines consultant, welcomed the move.
"Finally the mining industry has been opened up to real competition. This
competition will be reflected in the type of technology to be applied and
the fulfillment of the committed capital expenditure.
"This competition is pivotal to the country's economic development that was
throttled by the amalgamation of RST and NCCM which saw the creation of
ZCCM. The structure of ZCCM has had a negative impact on the economy
because it created a virtual monopoly in mining.
"The acquisition of Nkana and Mufulira divisions by FQM and Glencore is a
step in the right direction and the Zambian Government must be commended
for a job well-done. It will definitely break any monopoly in the mining
industry," he said.
Church leaders have hailed the award of the remaining mining units to FQM.
"This will indeed make the mining industry competitive, but of major
concern to us is the ability of the investors to translate profits from the
mines to direct benefits for the ordinary Zambians.
The mines belong to the people and they must be seen to be benefiting
them," Pentecostal Assemblies of God deputy national superintendent
Reverend Joshua Banda said.
Opinion
By the Editor
THERE cannot be a better Christmas and New Year's gift for Zambia than the
news from London announcing the offer of sale of Mufulira Division and
Nkana mine to First Quantum Minerals Limited.
GOD forbid, for seemingly showing excessive joy, but the news will
certainly please all those who hold Zambia dear. It is even more
exhilarating coming so soon after Anglo-American Corporation had signed for
the purchase of Nchanga, Konkola, Nampundwe mines and Konkola Deep.
We must under any circumstances be overjoyed. It is good news that the deal
will be completed by January 31, 2000 and the mines snapped up by a company
that is fast establishing itself in Zambia, seeing the Government expected
a protracted wait to dispose of Mufulira and Nkana.
First Quantum Minerals chairman Philip Pascall delivered the package to the
Zambians in a news release from London yesterday. And we have no reason to
doubt its authenticity.
First Quantum Minerals is not alone in the deal. It has been joined by
financiers and metal traders Glencore International Ag. We feel together
they have the muscle and strength to see the deal to the end.
Travellers entering Ndola from Kabwe, especially at night, will certainly
agree that Indeni no longer has the monopoly over the Bwana Mkubwa skyline.
Looking right will elicit a sight to behold, of radiant lights illuminating
a big plant and smoke gently filling the skies from the enormous kilns.
First Quantum's performance at the resurrected 93 year-old Bwana Mkubwa
Mine is a living testimony of hard work and dedicated service.
The company has not only restricted its work to mineral exploitation, at a
mine that was considered dead 20 years ago, but to the community as well.
It has helped Ndola City Council to rehabilitate the Kantolomba sewerage.
It has also spent K80 million in the city on malaria control.
Many thought that after losing the bid for Luanshya Division to Binani,
even after presenting an excellent due diligence study, First Quantum would
decamp. But they did not. This is a mark of loyalty and confidence in the
future of Zambia.
It has already pumped in more than $30 million into Bwana Mkubwa mine, and
upped copper production from 5, 276 tonnes and 42, 279 of sulphuric acid
last year to so far 9, 600 and 70, 000 tonnes, respectively, operating at a
profit of $12.6 million.
The company might not be that old in mining but it has shown commitment
which must be supported.
However, we feel the issue of the Nkana smelter is one that the
privatisation committee must resolve immediately. It does not make sense
having the mines in different hands and the smelter in another.
We congratulate the Government for not wasting time in awarding the offer.
Business matters call for business action. |
