Government ready to sell copper mines

The Zambian government is reportedly ready to sell the loss-making Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) no matter how low the offer, news reports said on Friday. Quoting Syamukayumbu Syamujaye, the mines minister, the reports said the government was ready to sell the mines because operations were becoming too costly for the country’s ailing economy. Syamujaye’s comments follow last month’s breakdown in talks between the government and Anglo American which had offered to buy ZCCM for US $90 million, which was rejected by president Frederick Chiluba’s government. The government is reportedly losing US $2 million a day in operational costs to keep the mines going. An earlier offer to buy the mines for US $1 billion by a consortium of international mining houses was also rejected by the government. The consortium, in terms of their offer, would have paid US $131 million in cash and plough the rest into capital investments while at the same time assuming ZCCM’s debts. The government demanded US $500 million in cash, which the consortium did not offer, leading to their pullout from the talks.