Zambian Business Times

Munali Nickel mine gets new lease of life...

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Munali Nickel Mine has brought life to the mining sector after it announced that it will reopen the Nickel mine near Mazabuka district which has been under maintenanc­e since November 2011.

Munali Nickel Mine has brought life to the mining sector after it announced that it will reopen the Nickel mine near Mazabuka district which has been under maintenanc­e since November 2011.

Consolidat­ed Nickel Mine (CNM), a UK based company says it acquired the right to operate the mine from the owners Jinchuan Group of China in 2014.

After Successful­ly securing re-start finance in the order of US$40 million, the decision was taken in June 2018 to bring the mine back into production with the first ore production planned for Q1: 2019.

The estimated revenue over the projected mine life of 7 years are in the order of US$150 - million. These funds will be applied to meet needs arising from salaried employees, PAYE, cooperate income tax 30%, withholdin­g taxes, payment for mine consumable­s ( ZESCO power, cement and fuel) and further corporate social responsibi­lity (CRS) activities with an estimated net forex injection of about US$60 - million into the Zambian economy.

A check by the Zambia Business Times analyst found key personnel who have already been recruited on sight working while other general workers were busy working undergroun­d to facilitate for the rehabilita­tion and reopening of the mine.

Consolidat­ed Nickel Mine Managing Director Simon Purkiss says the mine has the capacity to produce 900,000 tons of nickel a year but that the production will be reduced to 700,000 tons a year in order to prolong the life span of the mines operation.

“Nickel has a relatively good price on the markets which currently stands at USD13,000 per ton, which is a good price for a metal like nickel when compared to copper.

This is the reason why the mine stopped its operations in 2011. Meanwhile the mine is likely targeting to export Nickel to China and Canada considerin­g how the metal will fare on the internatio­nal market,” he said.

However, Purkiss has complained that the proposed tax changes by government from VAT to a non-refundable sales tax will make the operations of the mines difficult.

He says government has in the last 3 years made a lot of changes in terms of mining tax which is not a good sign for investors to invest in the country.

Mabiza Resources Limited General Manger Matthew Banda says CNM through the local subsidiary Mabiza Resources Ltd (MRL) has completed numerous studies on the Munali Property to improve the economics of the operation to enable the mine to come back to production.

 ??  ?? Nickel processing at Munali Nickel mine in Mazabuka
Nickel processing at Munali Nickel mine in Mazabuka
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