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KAGEM Mining Limited says the company is now profitable after paying dividends to its shareholders for a third successive year, the latest being US$14 million in 2015.
Kagem chief executive officer Ian Harebottle stated the dividends paid demonstrated what could be done when national resources and world-class private sector expertise join forces to create a flagship global business.
“Kagem is now profitable and paying dividends. That is good news for the government of Zambia and its people and it demonstrates what can be done when national resources and world-class private sector expertise join forces to create a flagship global business,” he stated in a news release issued in Lusaka yesterday. “Our three consecutive years of dividends, supported by the considerable increase in jobs and skills that have been created at the mine, show that the benefits of that collaboration can be shared by all parties and in an equitable manner.”
Harebottle stated that global appreciation and demand for coloured gemstones had continued to increase.
“Global appreciation and demand for coloured gemstone continues to increase at a steady pace, largely supported by [London-listed] Gemfields [plc] global marketing efforts, as we remain committed to developing our pipeline of growth projects such as our recent moves into Ethiopia and Colombia,” he added.
And Kagem also generated more than US$43.7 million in corporate taxes and mineral royalties in the last three years in addition to the dividends, according to the news release.
The dividend is for the year ended June 30, 2015, and is the third dividend paid to shareholders by Kagem, bringing the total dividends declared in the last three years to US$30 million.
According to the news release, the mine produced 30.1 million carats of emeralds and beryl in its 2015 financial year, compared with the 20.2 million carats produced in the 2014 financial year, making this the second highest recorded annual production ever achieved at Kagem Mine.
The Lufwanyama-based mining entity, the world’s single largest producing emerald mine, paid a US$14 million dividend to its shareholders – the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which owns 25 per cent of the company on behalf of the Zambian government, and Gemfields plc, which owns the remaining 75 per cent.
