Mines Minister Criticises KCM Liquidation

Minister of Mines and Minerals Paul Kabuswe has criticised the previous government’s decision to seize Konkola Copper Mines from private owners Vedanta and initiate liquidation proceedings. 

During a tour of the Copperbelt on Monday, Mr Kabuswe said the move had brought nothing but trouble and indicated that President Hichilema’s new administration would be seeking to roll back state involvement in the mining sector.

“We must never ever bring politics in[to] the private sector,” Kabuswe told a meeting at KCM. 

“Part of the mess that we are in is because of that liquidation process,” he added.

The government has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Vedanta over KCM since 2019, when state investment firm ZCCM-IH handed control of the business to a liquidator. 

The liquidator, Milingo Lungu, has since split KCM into two units - KCM SmelterCo Ltd and Konkola Mineral Resources Ltd - in order to sell off the company’s assets more easily.

However, aberration is still ongoing, with a tribunal in London recently declaring that the liquidator had been installed illegally and should be dismissed. Potential buyers are understandably wary, therefore, of the potential legal complications.

On Monday, Mr Kabuswe said he was disappointed not to see former President Edgar Lungu present at the meeting, given his role in orchestrating the liquidation. Mr Lungu told Reuters he had not received any official invitation to the meeting.

Earlier this month, Vedanta said it wanted to reopen dialogue with the government and ZCCM, saying it was prepared to invest a further $1.5 billion into KCM if its ownership was restored.

The company’s CEO Sunil Duggal said in a statement, “we are keen to resolve the current situation at KCM, and work alongside ZCCM, the government and all stakeholders to help build the mine back into one of the world’s leading copper producers.”