01/05/2025
By AMB E. Mwamba
History Repeats Itself
In 2002, KCM returned to ZCCM-IH.
Anglo American, the world's second-largest mining company,had just pulled out of Zambia and offered Zambia $30 million in compensation for its decision to close or sell copper mines accounting for two-fifths of the country's export revenue.
Anglo and its partners bought the mines in 2000 for $90 million and promised to invest as much as $1 billion in developing Konkola Deep, a new mine and revamping existing operations.
It cancelled the project in January, three months before agreeing to spend $1.3 billion buying mines in Chile, where copper production costs were half to those in Zambia.
"What has been offered is $30 million by Anglo American,"
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa said.
"They've taken advantage of a loophole in the agreement signed at the time, which means there is no provision for exit damages."
Government began to look for new buyers of KCM.
Later the mine was sold to Vedanta Mineral Resources for $25million.
Anglo American P.L.C., the global mining conglomerate with operations across Africa, announced it had completed its withdrawal from the Zambian copper industry, closing the books on a failed investment that in little more than two years would have cost the company about $358 million.
Under the exit agreement, Anglo will pay the Zambian government $30 million, and would buy out the other two minority shareholders, the International Finance Corporation(a member of the World Bank Group ) and the Commonwealth Development Corporation, for $25.4 million each, turning their stakes over to the government along with its own.
File pic;Bank of Zambia Governor, Caleb Fundanga, Barclays MD Daniel Nelson,Minister of Finance Ngandu Magande, and Barclays Board Chairperson, Hakainde Hichilema