Mopani CEO Blocked At KKIA After 7 Day Ultimatum
The CEO of Mopani Copper mines Nathan Bullock has been stopped and refused exit as he tried to depart the country on Wednesday evening via Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.
Mr Bullock has been told he must stay in the country until the dispute between government and Mopani regarding the more to put its Nkaka and Mufulira mines on care and maintenance has been resolved. According to Minister for Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo Mr Bullock will be transferred to Kitwe in order to answer questions concerning closure of its sites. Kampyongo claims that Mr Bullock had been advised to stay in the country for the time being.
Mopani shut its mines last week, sending home all workers and terminating employment for contractors as a result of the challenging operating, regulatory and macro-economic environment.
The closure is expected to last for three months and was effective as of Wednesday April 8. During this time permanent employees will continue to receive their base salaries. The company has also confirmed that employees and their dependents will also continue to receive healthcare.
However, government has objected to the plans and refused to grant Mopani’s request. Earlier this week the government issues Mopani with a 7 day ultimatum in which the company has to demonstrate to government why it should not lose its licence for alleged breach of provision of the Mines and Minerals Act and the Employment Code Act.
The Zambia Chamber of Mines have warned of the possible consequences if government seizes Mopani Copper Mines Plc. According to the Chamber’s President Goodwell Mateyo investor confidence is already at an all time low but could fall further still.
Mateyo also questioned how government will fund the takeover given low levels of reserves.
Speaking on the recent case of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) he stated, “You see that there are challenges with KCM, their production figures are nothing to write about. [The call} It is not viable; it is not even something that someone can even be mentioning at the moment. I am not saying it is impossible, but the economic consequences will be to ghastly to even contemplate! To increase production, you need to make significant capital investment into any mine, and as a government, we don’t have the capacity to make the sort of investment that is required. It means, then, that we are taking precious resources from health, education, social (sectors) to take them into mining production; we simply don’t have the luxury to do that.”
