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To: CIMA who wrote (19547)	9/22/1998 11:25:00 PM
From: Wizzer	Respond to of 116762

Noranda says not interested in Zambia copper mines TORONTO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Canadian mining giant Noranda Inc. denied on Tuesday it was preparing to re-emerge as a potential buyer of, or partner in, two prized copper mines in Zambia. Toronto-based Noranda, which recently committed itself to a 37.5-percent share of the US$2.2 billion Antamina copper project in Peru, confirmed it had rejected an offer from Anglo American Corp. of South Africa Ltd. to form a joint venture interest in the Nkana and Nchanga mines. "They did approach us and we declined to participate. We've got other things on the go, such as Antamina," Noranda spokeswoman Helen Reeves said. Noranda was part of a group of international mining companies, dubbed the Kafue consortium, that was negotiating with largely state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines earlier this year to buy the mines. The consortium, which also included U.S.-based Phelps Dodge Corp. , South Africa's Avmin Ltd. and the British-based Commonwealth Development Corp., had offered Zambia US$1 billion for the two mines. Zambia rejected that offer three months ago as too low, but the impoverished country has since come under growing pressure to sell the mines and put a derailed privatization plan back on track. Zambian Mines Minister Syamukayumbu Syamujaye said on Tuesday the government had found no new bidders since talks with the consortium collapsed. The Nkana and Nchanga mines account for 65 percent of Zambia Consolidated's output, while the company itself generates 90 percent of Zambia's hard currency. Zambia, once among the world's biggest copper producers, has seen its output halved since 1970 due to mismanagement and the continued use of aged equipment.