EXPEDITE TALKS WITH VEDANTA NDC URGES GOVERNMENT
NATIONAL Democratic Congress faction leader George Sichula, has urged the government to expedite talks with Vedanta over Konkola Copper Mines.
Mr Sichula said doing so would help to remove the mining giant from the challenges it is facing.
He said once the issues between ZCCM-IH and Vedanta are addressed, an investor is needed to inject resources to recapitalise KCM.
He said as it stands, KCM is accumulating more problems that will be difficult to resolve.
Mr Sichula said production at KCM had gone down and that suppliers and contractors are facing challenges in getting their dues which should not be the case.
He added that the PF government was wrong to kick out Vedanta Resources without following the laid down procedure.
But mining expert Gilbert Temba said on a scale of 1 to 100 largest mining companies in the world today, Vedanta was still not in that league; and surely if Zambia will regain its footprint of being one of the largest copper mining countries in the world, then Vedanta should never be one of the investors in the coveted mining industries.
Mr Temba said this was so because Vedanta was too small to develop Konkola Deep Mining Project (where potential and exponential growth of the copper mining industry lies and required at least US$4.5 billion to bring into production of some 400, 000 - 500, 00 tonnes of copper per annum.
“Therefore going forward the present government will be committing political and economic suicide to allow Vedanta back. “Notwithstanding,
I am pleased that Government has signalled their intention to get the matter of liquidation of KCM out of court and negotiate a way forward with Vedanta; but this should never imply that they will consider allowing Vedanta back.”