Vedanta gets back Zambia copper mines after paying $246m
Vedanta Resources has paid about $246-million to creditors to regain control of the Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia after about five years.
The payment paves the way for “imminent reinstatement” of Konkola’s board and return of full management control to billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta, according to a statement. The mines in the African nation hold one of the largest high-grade copper deposits in the world, as well as cobalt reserves, according to Vedanta.
The metals and energy major plans to ramp up copper production from the mines to 300 000 tons a year and cobalt output to 6 000 tons.
Earlier, the company settled a long-standing dispute with the Zambian government after agreeing to clear debts owed to the mine’s creditors through a court approved plan last month. Konkola Copper Mines was put into provisional liquidation after the previous government accused its owner of lying about expansion plans and paying too little tax.
Vedanta will turnaround the mines soon “as a world-class copper and cobalt asset that is well equipped with a smelter and a robust tailings leaching plant,” Chris Griffith, chief executive officer of Vedanta Base Metals, said in the statement.
Agarwal, who is looking to reduce the parent company’s massive debt load, has pledged to invest $1-billion in the operation and double copper production, a move that could help shore up Zambia’s flagging copper output, which is expected to hit a 14-year low in 2023.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
ESAB South Arica, the leading supplier of high-end welding and cutting products to the Southern African industrial market is based in...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
