Indian mining firm to invest in Zambia's mining sector
Lusaka (Platts)--3Oct2008
platts.com
Sande-sara Mining Group of India has signed a memorandum of understanding
with the Zambia Development Agency to invest $100 million in the Zambian
mining sector and has already registered a Zambian subsidiary company,
Sande-Sara Mining Company which is waiting for a mining license from
the Zambian Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, a ZDA official said
Friday.
Sande-Sara plan to open up a new large scale copper and cobalt mining
operation in North-Western Province of Zambia which already hosts Equinox
Minerals' 169,000 mt/year Lumwana Copper project, which comes on stream
in December 2008, and First-Quantum Minerals' Kansanshi Copper Mine, already
in operation.
The company is currently engaged in the area doing scoping to
identify an area for the mining operation, Margaret Chimanse, ZDA public
relations officer, told Platts. Sande-Sara Group Chairman, Nitin Sande-Sara
said the group had decided to invest an initial $100 million with the view to
supplementing efforts by the Zambian government to develop the mining sector.
He said that Zambia had a conducive business environment. Sande-Sara also has
$500,000 million of investment in Nigeria which was expected to grow to $1.5
billion, Sande-Sara said. The Sande-Sara Group would be the second Indian
mining company to invest heavily in the Zambian mining sector after Vedanta
Resources which has a majority interest in Zambia's largest copper producer,
Konkola Copper Mines.
--James Mwambazi, newsdesk@platts.com |
