Zambia’s ZCCM-IH to appoint adviser to restructure Mopani Copper Mines

Zambia’s state mining investment firm ZCCM-IH is in the process of appointing a financial adviser to restructure Mopani Copper Mines and help find an investor for the copper mine, board chair Dolika Banda said on Friday.

The appointment is “imminent”, Banda said, adding that ZCCM should find a new equity partner within the next six months to a year.

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema on Monday said the government is “very close” to finding an investor for Mopani.

Zambia took on $1.5 billion in debt to buy Mopani from Glencore in January 2021 and has been looking for a new investor for the mine since as it needs significant investment to increase output.

“To own this mine requires billions of dollars and we can’t continue to be asking the Zambian treasury to be financing exploration, productivity and technology upgrades,” Banda told Reuters in an interview in Lusaka.

ZCCM-IH will continue helping the company service its loans and working capital, paying salaries and buying inputs, while it works on “long-term solutions”, Banda said.

(By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe and Helen Reid; Editing by Jason Neely)