Copper

Authorities in three of the world’s largest copper-producing countries are demanding a larger share of the windfall, according to reports released this week. While this isn’t uncommon during times of high prices, there’s also the added motivation of figuring out how to pay for pandemic recovery, as well as talk …

Omnia Group company BME says South Africa needs to do more to benefit from the looming demand peak in ‘green minerals. Ralf Hennecke, General Manager, Technology and Marketing at Omnia Group company BME said mines have been very successful in containing COVID-19 infections, allowing most operations to return to almost …

According to the latest edition of Mining Elites in Africa, mines on the continent are beginning to adopt hybrid power plants. The power projects at two gold mines in Mali and at Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula copper production in the DRC were chosen in the annual publication as stand-out examples of making …

Glencore announced that its subsidiary, Carlisa Investments Corp. (Carlisa), which holds 81.2% of the shares in Glencore, has entered into an agreement with ZCCM Investments Holding plc (ZCCM) to transfer its 90% interest in Mopani Copper Mines plc (Mopani) to ZCCM, which is the owner of the remaining 10% interest …

Last year, Zambia paid a value-added tax refund of 8.5 billion kwacha ($400 million) to mining firms, the head of the tax authority said recently. After it defaulted on a $42.5 million coupon in November, Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, is negotiating with creditors to try to get debt relief. …

After incurring project expenditures in excess of $3 million during the initial work phase, Rio will now proceed to the next stage of the Midnight Sun Mining’s Solwezi licenses in Zambia, part of an earn-in and joint venture agreement the companies signed in April 2020. This would allow the company …

Zambia hopes to “strike a win-win situation” with bondholders, Mines Minister Richard Musukwa said after Africa’s no.2 copper producer nation failed to pay the $42.5-million coupon on its Eurobond debt last Friday. Zambia doesn’t expect its mining assets to be taken away by bondholders and has no plans to sell its …

Base metals have climbed this month on signs of progress in developing a drug to combat Covid-19, which would help economies reopen and global growth recover. But there are still immediate fears that fresh lockdowns – especially in the US – could bring renewed pressure on economic activity. The Trump …

According to the industry lobby group of copper miners in Zambia, 2 billion dollars of proposed investments have been halted because the royalty tax imposed last year rendered the projects unworkable. The proposal of First Quantum Minerals Ltd. to spend $1 billion to prolong the life of its Kansanshi operation …

Economic growth takes centre stage In Part 1 of Zambia’s history of copper production, we reflected on the country’s progression from the early days of large-scale production of the red metal almost 100 years ago, to the challenges that led to the re-privatisation of the industry at the end of the …