REMEDY MINING WOES

THE Ministerial entourage that concluded the tour of duty on the Copperbelt has certainly garnered sufficient data that requires deep analysis before an appropriate tonic can be recommended. It will be too early just now to start touting a remedy as the entourage will need to sit down and interrogate all finer details before putting them together. A detailed report will be surrendered to the Head of State, who commissioned the initiative. Yes, Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu led his three counterparts and technocrats to the Copperbelt to look at challenges in the mining industry so that Government can have an input in seeking a sustainable solution. Even before the official presentation is made, some of the salient and most obvious issues came out, among them the need to reduce cost of production, particularly at Mopani Copper Mines which is chocked with a horde of expatriate staff. The mine has been grappling with expenses on huge emoluments for foreign managers and technical staff when Zambians with similar qualifications, but better skill and competence levels can handle these positions with much aplomb. Suspicions of in-trading and inflated pricing of procured goods and services are rife at the giant mining that has side-lined local contractors and espoused foreign traders. Zambia has high-calibre geologists and mine engineers that have a deep understanding of the local mining terrain. But they are made to work under “expatriates” who have remote understanding of mining and end up ill-treating local professionals, most of whom have left in frustration. As a result, questionable methods have been applied in the underground mining, a more delicate undertaking than open-cast mining. Mopani must explain why the concentrator which was installed at huge cost has not been operating; other mining operations at Mopani have equally scaled down significantly. It is not convincing that the Zambian copper ore grade is not up to scratch, as some firms have claimed. They have instead resorted to importing concentrate from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and convinced Government to suspend the 5 per cent import duty. The fact is they have failed to maintain the machinery such as the concentrator procured at huge cost; it is a white elephant. For easy understanding, a concentrator is equipment or plant where ore is separated into values, which are concentrates and rejects or tails. Since the concentrator is not working, mines have opted to buy copper concentrates from DRC because back home they are not mining. This explains why they have been attempting to lay off huge numbers of miners under the guise that the ore is depleted underground when in fact they have no capacity to mine and process the ore. The other sticky issue is mistrust that is very apparent between the majority shareholders in the mining firms and the Zambian Government on matters pertaining to production, sales and profit levels. There has been outcry from Civil Society Organisations and ordinary citizens that Government has not been getting enough resources from mines through taxes. Perhaps, this has been one of the reasons why Government has been adjusting the tax regime for the mining sector more often. It is hoped, therefore, that Dr Ng’andu and his entourage are armed to the teeth with information about the causes of pitfalls in the mining sector. It is time to thrash out all encumbrances and place the sector on the right footing.