Mines sale on course

The purchase of Zambia's two largest copper mines, Nkana and Nchanga, by mining giant Anglo American "is on track", a spokeswoman for the company told IRIN on Thursday.

The final results of a "due diligence" survey of the mines are expected at the end of the month, and Anglo's prospective partner Cadelco of Chile would then need authorisation from the Chilean government to go ahead with the deal.

"It's unlikely anything will be finalised until September, but I think all the partners are very committed to pursuing and finalising as quickly as possible," the spokeswoman said.

Anglo agreed in January to acquire Nkana, Nchanga, and other assets from the loss-making state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) if it could find suitable partners to share the risk in the climate of falling copper prices. With foreign donors making funding conditional on the sale of ZCCM, the Anglo-Cadelco deal is vital to the Zambian government.

The government, which last year turned down a higher bid from a rival consortium, has been forced to accept Anglo's offer of a US $90 million payment, US $300 million in capital expenditure over three years, with a proposed US $800 million investment in the Konkola deep mine dependent on third-party financing.