Corona Virus Sends 20,000 Zambian Miners Home

By Paul Shalala

Mine Workers Union of Zambia President Joseph Chewe 

(in blue shirt) addresses miners who have been 

sent home by Mopani.

The Corona Virus pandemic has been used as an excuse by a major mining firm in Zambia, Mopani Copper Mines, to lay off 11,000 miners.

This means that a further 9,000 workers employed by subcontractors and suppliers, who are mainly South African and Peruvian firms, will also lose their jobs.

Zambia has in the past one month recorded 52 Corona Virus.

So far, two patients have died, 30 recovered and 20 are still being treated by health personnel.

Mopani Copper Mines, which is jointly owned by global mining giants Glencore (73.1%) and First Quantum Minerals (16.9), has placed two of its mines in the copper rich towns of Kitwe and Mufulira on care and maintenance, sending its workforce home.

“In addition to the impacts of a rapid decline in the copper price, Mopani’s situation has been further impacted by the critical disruptions to international mobility, transportation and supply chains arising from COVID 19,” said Mopani in a press statement issued on 7^th April. 

The mining giant has also given its subcontractors a month to wind up business.

The decision was communicated to the Zambian government which responded with anger, giving the miner a seven days ultimatum to rescind its decision or face revocation of its mining licence.

Mines Minister Richard Musukwa said government will not take kindly manoeuvres by Mopani.

“Our workers, together with the union must not accept mediocrity from Mopani. And they have government support to stand on their right, on their mine, our God given resource, that’s our position.” Said Musukwa in an interview with News Diggers, a Zambian online newspaper.

And on 8^th April, there was commotion as thousands of Mopani workers collected their letters after being sent away by officials.

Since then, the four workers unions in the mining sector have been holding daily protests to pressure Mopani to rescind its decision.

This is because previously, whenever a mine places its operations on care under maintenance, it means workers will automatically lose their jobs, irrespective of the assurances by the mining firm.

Meanwhile, 0n 15^th April, Mopani Copper Mines Chief Executive Officer Nathan Bullock was intercepted at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka just before he boarded a flight for Australia.

It is not known why the Australian native was leaving the country at the height of a crisis.

Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo confirmed that Mr Bullock was intercepted by Immigration officers at the airport.

The minister told the media that it was surprising that Mr. Bullock, who attended meetings over the crisis at the mine in the morning, would attempt to leave the country without informing authorities.

According to media reports, the mining executive was driven by road to Kitwe which is 300 kilometers away accompanied by armed Police officers.

Armed Police officers are now guarding Mr Bullocks' house but government has denied media reports that he has been placed under house arrest.

The Ministry of Mines has set up a Taskforce to investigate matters surrounding Mopani Copper Mines.

One of the people the Taskforce is supposed to interrogate is Bullock.

The Taskforce is expected to give recommendations on the way forward.

Mopani is a big stakeholder in Zambia.

It sponsors Nkana Football Club, a Kitwe-based premier league side which holds the record of winning 12 league trophies more than any other club in Zambia.

The firm also sponsors other clubs in various disciplines and its business supports thousands of Zambians in various mining towns.

Last year, the Zambian government took over Vedanta-owned Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) after it failed to pay its contractors and suppliers despite repeated appeals and pledges of investing more into its mines.

KCM, which is now being run by a liquidator, is said to have cleared all previously owned contractors and suppliers but its future is still being contested for in the courts of law.

The mining giant owns mines in Chingola, Chiliabombwe and Shibuyunji.

Zambia is Africa’s second largest producer of copper after the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Most of its mines are run by foreign entities with the Zambian government retaining minority stakes through the ZCCM-IH conglomerate.

In the end, the Zambian government is likely to prevail in the Mopani case because it cannot risk 20,000 potential voters going home hungry, a few months before the crucial 2021 general elections.

The Copperbelt is a stronghold for the Edgar Lungu-led Patriotic Front government where it has 20 of the 22 Members of Parliament and any moves aimed at undermining its grip on the grassroots are always fought to avoid the opposition taking advantage.

Already, the PF leadership in the area has seen how politically sensitive this matter is and has been joining mine unions and residents in protesting the Mopani move at the mine offices daily. 

For Mopani, which has so far invested millions of dollars in sinking new shafts and modernizing its operations, they stand to lose if the mining licence is grabbed and given to another firm.

Already, rumours are flying around alleging that some Chinese firms are lining up to take over the two mines.

With the deep resentment Zambians have over Chinese investment in Zambia especially over their low human rights record, it maybe hard for the Chinese to sway public opinion if at all they succeed in taking over the facilities.

Mopani Copper Mines Allegedly Polluting The Environment

Officials from Ministry of Mines inspecting the effluent 

By Paul Shalala

It was a struggle to open the huge pipe.

Two men had to help each other to release the effluent from this pipe.

The tailings flow on the ground, through a foot path into a dam.

This dam, which was built by Mopani Copper Mines, a subsidiary of Carlista Investments Corporation which is a joint venture between Glencore and First Quantum Minerals.

This dam also has an opening which later releases the effluent into the nearby bush.

Unfortunately, this tailings dam is illegal according to the Kitwe-based Mine Safety Department, a unit of Zambia's Ministry of Mines which oversees safety issues in the mining industry.

“There is no indication from the Mine Safety Department that this paddock was approved. Mopani Copper Mines did not apply for it to be set up here. This is not good for the environment, there is a nearby stream and am sure it is being polluted,” said Gideon Ndalama, the National Coordinator of the Zambia Mining Environmental Remediation and Improvement Project.

The illegal tailing dam which Mopani Copper Mines made

As this effluent continues to flow into the bush, the fear is that it will contaminate the environment.

Authorities are not happy that Mopani Copper Mines is discharging the waste without notifying relevant authorities.

“This is very bad and dangerous. You cannot be harming the environment like this. I will talk to management, they need to stop this. There could be acid and uranium here being discharded into the environment,” said Paul Chanda, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines.

Mr Chanda, who made an unannounced trip to the Nkana Tailings Complex, was shocked to find workers from Mopani Copper Mines opening one of the pipes to discharge the tailings.

He threatened that Mopani Copper Mines risks being penalized for deliberately harming the environment.

The workers on site could however not talk to this blogger as to why they were discharging the effluent.

Efforts to get a comment from Mopani Copper Mines proved futile as a press query sent to the firm’s Public Relations Unit was not responded two for a week.

Grass drying up in the Nkana Tailings Complex

However, inspectors from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) have visited the area and collected samples to ascertain the contents of the effluent.

ZEMA Corporate Affairs Manager Irene Chipili says the samples have been taken to a laboratory and they will be tested soon.

And a check at the nearby tailings found some trees and grass drying up due to lack of maintenance.

The tailings, whose licenses have been given to private firms, have developed craters and holes, leading to the leakage of red oxide to the environment.

The Ministry of Mines has since asked the license holders to fence off the tailings to stop the leakage of red oxide which is harming the environment.

Mopani Copper Mines Loses $30 Million In 10 Day Power Dispute

Mopani Copper Mines  Corporate Head offices in Kitwe

By Paul Shalala

Mopani Copper Mines, a unit of Glencore,  has in the past 10 days reportedly lost about US$30 million in a power dispute which has forced it to suspend operations and send its thousands of workers home.

On August 11, the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC), the sole distributor of electricity to Zambia’s mines, started restricting power to Mopani after the firm refused to  pay the revised electricity tariffs.

Zambia is Africa's second largest producer of copper.

CEC is a private company and it does not produce its own power.

It buys it from Zesco, a state owned company and later sales it to the mines.

Zesco and CEC arrived at the new tariff after protracted talks.

The new tariff now costs mining companies 9.3 US cents per kilowatt hour.

And the restriction of power from the required 190 megawatts to 94 megawatts means that the company, which operates two copper mines and smelters in the mining towns of Kitwe and Mufulira, can no longer send miners underground.

This has also threatened the economy of the two towns which rely heavily on MCM for jobs and business.

The Nkana and Mufulira mines have been in operation since the 1930s.

“Mopani Copper Mines has rejected the industry-wide tariff increment and sought to continue to pay for the electricity they consume at the old tariff. Given that it is already eight months since the new tariff was implemented, outstanding amounts due from MCM have escalated and it has become unsustainable for the utilities (CEC and ZESCO) to continue supplying MCM with their full power requirements. Under the circumstances, CEC has been left with no option but to restrict power supply to MCM to a level commensurate with the monthly payments that MCM continues to make to CEC,” said CEC Senior Manager for Corporate Communications said in a press statement to this blogger.

Ms Nsabika said CEC was still open for talks to diffuse the standoff which has now entered day 10.

“CEC wishes to highlight that it is saddened by this very unfortunate situation and hopes that the two Managements of CEC and MCM will work together to conclusively resolve this standoff. In this regard, CEC will continue to engage with MCM with a view to finding a negotiated solution within the shortest possible time.”

But Mopani has cried foul that the matter involving the revised electricity tariffs is in court and there was no need for CEC to restrict power.

Despite other mining houses paying the revised tariffs, Mopani has refused.

The firm has since asked the Kitwe High Court to interpret the power agreement the mining firm has with CEC.

“Despite an injunction being granted by the Courts of law on Friday, 11th August 2017, power has not yet been restored to our assets. This relates to the implementation of new electricity tariffs, which Mopani and other mining companies have contested in court and the courts of law are yet to resolve the matter. While awaiting the determination of the matter in court, Mopani Copper Mines Plc has continued to consistently pay the tariffs as stipulated in the existing legal contract with CEC,” said Mopani Copper Mines Public Relations Manager Nebert Mulenga a day after the restriction of power was implemented.

But 10 days later, the standoff is still on and thousands of miners are still not reporting for work.

Energy Minister David Mabumba this morning met management from both CEC and MCM in Kitwe to try and pacify the situation.

He later emerged from the meeting with a 24 hour ultimatum to the two firms to resolve their differences.

“Today’s meeting with Mopani was to resolve some of the outstanding issues regarding the 9.3 cents or the increase in the power tariff. I wanted to conclude the negotiations today and I have told them to give me the answer before close of business today. As far as Mopani is concerned, they are losing about $3 million per day,” said Mr Mabumba when he addressed reporters.

The Minister was accompanied to the meeting by Copperbelt Minister Bowman Lusambo and the Mayors and District Commissioners of Kitwe and Mufulira.

But by sunset, there was still silence on the talks between the two sides.

And stakeholders are concerned that the standoff will result in job losses.

Mine Workers Union of Zambia General Secretary Joseph Chewe has called on the mining firm and CEC to amicably resolve their dispute and avoid escalating the situation.

“We have just come from two years of retrenchments, we do not want to see our miners losing  jobs. Let CEC and Mopani dialogue and resolve this matter,” said Mr Chewe in an interview.

And Association of Mine Suppliers and Contractors President Augustine Mubanga says the restriction of power to Mopani Copper Mines has a possibility of affecting the overall performance of the mining industry.

“This issue must be resolved quickly because Mopani Copper Mines is a huge investor whose lack of production can affect Zambia's Gross Domestic Product,” said Mr Mubanga.

He adds that some of his members are no longer able to deliver their goods and services to Mopani since the firm shut down operations.

In May, Zambia's Energy Regulations Board raised domestic electricity tariffs.