Zambia seeks new investor in Vedanta-controlled copper miner
Government accuses Konkola of breaching terms of its mining licence
Lusaka — Zambia is looking for a new investor in Vedanta-controlled Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), President Edgar Lungu says, in a move likely to stoke international miners’ concerns about rising government intervention in the sector. Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, has also proposed tax changes that Lungu insists he will push through, despite opposition from international miners who say they will deter investment that Zambia desperately needs. “We are not shaken in our resolve to divorce [from some companies], starting with KCM, and we have filed that notification,” Lungu said on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation radio on Monday. The decision follows a number of breaches of the terms of KCM’s mining licence, presidential spokesperson man Amos Chanda said. “The government is planning to revoke KCM’s mining licence because of the breaches,” Chanda said. London-listed Vedanta said it was seeking an urgent meeting with Lungu over the future of KCM and that it ...
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