• Life is becoming miserable on the Copperbelt due to lack of a properly active mine.
• No decision can be made to bring any other investor in KCM without the involvement of Vedanta Resources.
• There will be a lot of complications and it will be costly to do away with Vedanta.
Association for Responsible Mining in Zambia (ARMZ) has called on government to make a bold decision on the reopening of Konkola Copper Mine (KCM).
Association President Victor Kalesha told Money FM News that the country will keep losing out the much desired resources if KCM continues in its current form.
Mr. Kalesha, who is also Citygate Christian Center Bishop, lamented that life is becoming miserable on the Copperbelt due to lack of a properly active mine.
He added that Zambians need to be told the truth that no decision can be made to bring any other investor in KCM without the involvement of Vedanta Resources.
“We should not attach emotions to making a decision on KCM. Mistakes have been made and we cannot continue in the same lane. Life is becoming miserable on the Copperbelt without any properly active mine. If it means bringing back Vendetta, so be it for the good of the nation and Copperbelt in particular.”
“There will be a lot of complications and it will be costly to do away with Vedanta just like that,” Mr. Kalesha said.
Recently, Vedanta Mineral Resource pledged commitment to investing US$1 billion towards capital mine development and other infrastructure to increase KCM’s integrated production.
According to Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ), National Union of Mining and Allied Workers (NUMAW) and the United Mine Workers of Zambia (UMUZ), employees of KCM subsidiaries Konkola Mineral Resources Limited (KMRL) and KCM SmelterCo Limited, are reporting for work without being assigned tasks, adding that KCM is failing to meet production and planning requirements.
However, KCM Provisional Liquidator Celine Nair has described as untrue insinuations by the three unions representing workers at KCM and its subsidiaries that the mine is failing to meet production and planning requirements.
