Yaluma optimistic about FQM future
Yaluma
Government has underscored the important role First Quantum Minerals plays in the collection of revenue through tax and the growth of the Zambian economy as a whole.
The pivotal role of the company in the nation’s economy was highlighted by Minister of Mines & Minerals Development Hon Christopher Yaluma as he toured FQM’s Kansanshi mine in Solwezi on Tuesday (4 April) along with US Ambassador Eric Schultz.
The Minister was hopeful that the company would be able to follow through on a planned US$1.5 billion investment to expand its processing and smelting capacity, a commitment that the company has said is contingent on a stable policy environment, the recovery of commodity prices and the resolution of current uncertainty over electricity tariffs.
“First Quantum is the biggest taxpayer and we recognise that, and we have got to appreciate what they are doing to contribute to this country’s economy. We just hope that they will be here to stay, extend the smelter as well as extend the life of mine so that we can see their participation in mining stretching for some years to come,” said Minister Christopher Yaluma.
Yaluma was part of a delegation that included Ambassador Schultz, senior FQM staff and American Embassy officials who visited First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi Mine on Tuesday to tour the facility.
The Minister highlighted some of the challenges the mining sector has been facing in recent years, stating that Government will put in place measures to make the mining sector investor friendly. “We maintain a close and regular dialogue with the Zambia Chamber of Mines; as new policies emerge we must sit-down and discuss them with the Chamber so that we don’t introduce measures which inadvertently damage the industry.”
FQM needs to double the capacity of its copper sulphide concentrator plant in the next five years in order to maintain current production levels as the proportion of copper oxide drops off. The plant expansion will also require investment in additional smelting capacity and wil extend the life of the mine
FQM started its life in Zambia in 1996, with the acquisition of the Bwana Mkubwa mineralised waste dumps on the Copperbelt. Its two current mines in Zambia – Kansanshi in Solwezi and the Sentinel in Kalumbila – account for 60 percent of the Group’s revenue and 70 percent of its profit.
First Quantum has invested in excess of US$5.7 billion in its Sentinel and Kansanshi Mines and the Kansanshi Smelter, and has paid more than US$3.3 billion in taxes in the last eleven years, transforming the economy of North-Western Province and creating employment for more than 8,500 people.