ZCCM-IH must run Mopani - Prof Chirwa
...as he says shareholders in the giant mine must reject the offer from IRH
PROFESSOR Clive Chirwa says ZCCM-IH should be allowed to run the Mopani Copper Mines instead of offering the 51 percent shareholding to International Resources Holding (IRH).
Prof Chirwa said if well managed, the giant mine can generate enough revenue than the US$1.1 billion the IRH would bring on board through the 51 percent shareholding.
He said ZCCM-IH can inject some resources to increase productivity which would enable the mining company to generate revenue.
Prof Chirwa said when the giant mine increased its productivity, it can take advantage of the market on the African region and a colossal sum of money can be injected in the country’s economy.
“The market is Africa. According; courtesy of Market Watch, ICF Congress, Fortune Business Insights and Industry Arc, Africa imports into the continent about 94 percent of copper wire and cables for building construction.
This is US$51.39 billion per year market, with CARG of 5.5 percent between 2022 - 2027. This alone is colossal. In copper tonnage, the African wire market amounts to 5, 274, 725 MT of copper per year if we take the price of copper on February 20, 2024 to be US$8, 190.00 per MT. What we need as Zambia is to capture this market.
But we can only afford to capture 3.2 percent that brings us to what we can manage at Mopani that comes to 200,791 MT. The current production at Mopani has fallen to around 80, 000 MT. The potential is 250, 000 MT and the target for this analysis is 200, 000 MT based on the current capable local ore deposit and concentration,” Prof Chirwa said.