ZCCM-IH has agreed to take over Glencore’s majority stake in Mopani Copper Mines in a $1.5 billion deal funded by debt, and will look for a new investor, Mines Minister Richard Musukwa has announced.
The sale comes after Glencore last year tried to suspend operations at Mopani due to low copper prices and COVID-19 disruptions, angering the government, which threatened to revoke the company’s mining licenses.
At a ceremony in Lusaka, Mr. Musukwa said the country will try to attract a new investor in Mopani, adding that “several entities” from Britain, Canada, China, Turkey, and Qatar have expressed interest.
Zambia's state mining investment arm ZCCM-IH has agreed to buy Glencore's majority stake in Mopani Copper Mines in a $1.5 billion deal funded by debt and will seek a new investor, the government said on Tuesday.
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LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia is seeking a compromise solution with bondholders and does not expect them to seize its mining assets even though it defaulted on part of its debt last week, Mines Minister Richard Musukwa said on Thursday.
FILE PHOTO: A truck at the Chibuluma copper mine in Zambia, January 17, 2015. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo
He also said Zambia had no plans to sell its shares in mining companies to raise cash after the country, which is Africa’s no.2 copper producer, failed to pay the $42.5 million coupon on its Eurobond debt on Friday.
“We don’t expect Zambia’s assets to be auctioned or taken away,” he told a news conference. “We are very positive that we will get a win-win situation between the bondholders and the government.”