Friday, March 29, 2024

Bwana Mkubwa mine to close

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FIRST Quantum Minerals Limited (FQM) will trim the workforce at its Bwana Mkubwa mine in Ndola which will be placed under care and maintenance this monthend due to lack of copper ore for processing at the plant.

FQM’s Bwana Mkubwa mine has run out of raw materials which were sourced locally and from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Operations and production manager Scott Andries confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.

“There are no raw materials for processing at the mine. The copper ore has finished, we expect to close the mine by end of this month,” he said.

Mr Andries said the mine has more than 200 workers, some of whom will be laid off while others will remain to carry out the care and maintenance programme.

However, he could not state the number of employees that will be retrenched.

“We are going to lay off some employees and maintain some to carry out care and maintenance of the mine,” he said.

Mr Andries said the company is currently sourcing for raw materials locally to enable it resume activities once proved viable.

He said FQM was undertaking new projects such as the Kulungila where it has embarked on drilling activities in North-Western Province.

Mr Andries said once the Kulungila project is found to be feasible, the company will put up required infrastructure at the would-be mine.

He said the concentrator for processing of copper ore will also be constructed at the site. He said the report on the project will determine whether the processing facilities should be established at Kulungila in North-Western Province or elsewhere.

“If everything goes by our plans, then we will be relocating our production activities nearer to the raw materials,” he said. Mr Andries said the project in North-Western is likely to take three years to be completed. He said the Bwana Mkubwa project took one year six months to be completed.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

12 COMMENTS

  1. IF THE COPPER ORE HAS FINISHED THEN THE MINE SHOULD BE CLOSED BUT PLEASE FQM DONT LIVE THE MINERS HIGH AND DRY MAKE SURE YOU COMPASATE THEM ACCORDINGLY AND IF THE NEW MINE IN NORTHWEST IS VIABLE CONSIDER THESE TWOO HUNDRED WORKERS AT BWANA MUKUBWA

  2. People will be jobless again, how sad.How will they take care of families sure? I hope they get a good package and use it wisely.

  3. All this is lack of foresight, Research and development! if all these were conducted they could have known the next move. These guys just come to make money and go back to their countries of origin and then my fellow Zambians remain suffering! What a shame!

  4. There is nothing the mines can do if raw materials are finished.That why we are tell Alaa-Bee to re-introduce windfall taxes because the owners will just one day announce that there is no more copper in Zambia and kwasila they will go.

  5. Yaba more hard times for Ndola’s economy and its people! I really feel for that great City! From an Industrial and commercial center of the Zambian economy to a mere ordinary quiet and fast degrading city! What a shame to our leaders!

  6. But Rb cant see that copper is depleting..why cant they start taxing these infestors bane? Copper is depleting at the expense of Zambians. What a joke……

  7. The copper has finished, What waht has zambia gain from it? Nothing…. Completely nothing. Now they want to go to northwestern and deplete the copper there too. After that ….’baile’ as the Lozis would say…

  8. Wanzelu@4. I get you. Just pa neighbour pa DRC, invetsors are flocking there-not ma chinese or indians-Americans & Australians. For every 60MT raw material exported there is a tax attraction of about 60$. They are not loosing these investors at all. RB probably likes nichekeleko & thats why he tolerates these corrupt Indians & chinese well known in that area. Its a pity people have to loose jobs & start all over again fending for their families when RB is flying accross the world. FQM is not to blame, its the enviroment they are in. The same FQM in DRC renuerates well as compared to zambian one. I pray dat RB will change & see right or else our aboards will rmain doldrums am scared when the Tsunami thing visits Africa-we will be gone prematurely. Let them root & why not if they loot wit RB

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