ZCCM IH , a listed investment company on the Lusaka Stock Exchange, has announced this week that t the company’s board accepted the offer from Barrick Gold Corporation, the Canadian company to buy its stake which will result in a cash realization in excess of USD 160 million. ZCCM IH owns a total 2.28% in Lumwana Copper Mines in Zambia and Jabal Sayid in Saudi Arabia as at March 21st 2011.
The initial investment for ZCCM IH cost USD 30 million in 2006 and therefore the potential return of investment is in excess of 400% during the period 2006 to 2011.
Meanwhile, Equinox Minerals Limited Board of Directors has with immediate effect resigned from the firm following the takeover its shares by Barrick Gold Corporation.
Equinox Minerals President and Chief Executive Officer, Craig Williams has complimented the board for its outstanding contribution, which he says have built Equinox into a leading global mining company.
Mr. Williams, along with David McAusland, David Mosher, Jim Pantelidis and Tony Reeves have resigned from the Equinox Minerals Limited Board.
This is contained in a web press release by Equinox Minerals obtained by Zambia News and Information Services in Solwezi today.
The statement says Rick McCreary, Jamie Sokalsky, Kelvin Dushnisky and Rob Krcmarov have been appointed to the Board and Jennifer Mazin has been appointed as the Assistant Company Secretary.
“Equinox announces that, following the satisfaction of all conditions to the offer by Barrick Gold Corporation to acquire all of the common shares in Equinox at a price of C$8.15 per share by way of takeover bid, the below changes have been made to the Equinox Board of Directors (“Board”) effective immediately.
“Mr Craig Williams, Mr David McAusland, Mr David Mosher, Mr Jim Pantelidis and Mr Tony Reeves have resigned from the Board.
” Mr Rick McCreary, Mr Jamie Sokalsky, Mr Kelvin Dushnisky and Mr Rob Krcmarov have been appointed to the Board. Ms Jennifer Mazin has been appointed as the Assistant Company Secretary,” the statement reads.
It furthers says it has also been resolved that the number of Board members be reduced from seven directors to six directors.
Meanwhile, Mr Williams complimented the board for its outstanding contribution, which along with the Company’s dedicated management team have built Equinox into a leading global mining company.
“The Company that I co-founded with the late Dr Bruce Nisbet in 1993 has evolved from a $10 million junior explorer to a major copper miner valued at over $7 billion.
” A credit to all involved in driving Equinox over the last 18 years. I offer my sincere thanks to all who have worked with me over those exciting and stimulating years,” he said.
Equinox Minerals developed and owned a 100 percent large scale copper mine in Zambia’s North-western Province.
ZANIS
These are the cheap brains we have running our govt, what is a 400% return on only 2.28% investment? Without any favourable mining royalties, we should have been looking to increasing the shareholding converted from the increased value of the shares & used our share leverage to obtain this. What has happened in effect, is we have sold ALL OUR RIGHTS & STAKES when the Value of this RESOURCE HAS JUST GONE UP AS EVIDENCED BY THIS BUY!!! This is a bankrupt govt that is looking to take it’s cut before it leaves office this year – HENCE THE REASON KUYA BEBELE Ba mumbwe!!!
Come drop it. Don’t you have anything else to say?
Thieves and thugs at the centre of our woes. This is robbery and a completely criminal activity by the board of directors of ZCCM-IH. I hope Sata will jail these crooks. Why not increase their share holding of Equinox so that the nation makes more money with the booming metals prices? Who appointed these thugs to the directorate of ZCCM-IH?
the trouble with pf is that they think that they know it all when they are actually the most ignorant lot on earth. that explains why a supposedly normal person can claim that he can develop zambia in 90 days, either ignorance or deception, but more likely the latter as deception=lies=theft=pf. how could sata jail anyone when in truth his objective is to do exactly what he thinks the “other guys” are doing? what do you think is the objective of trying to steal people’s votes with 90 days deception?
Zambia has lost out BIG time. Even though imf and world bank forced zambia to privatise the mines we should have kept a bigger stake in all the mines. It was daft and short sightd by the GRZ. Can’t they see the poverty around them? These companies are raping Zambia!!!!
zccm investment holdings, as the name says, is an investment company. they play with shares on the stock market to realise the best value on their investment. realising a return of $130million on an initial investment of $30million is very good. that money can be re-invested in other shares on the stock markets or other ventures. barrick gold who offered so much money to buy off equinox have their strategic reasons for taking that business decision, and so did the people who initially built equinox. ask yourself why craig williams and his team have accepted to sell the company which they painstakingly built over many years. you and i do not sit in those boardrooms and are not privy to those decisions, we have appointed capable people to run zccm ih so let us let them do the job for us.
#3 PF Govt, it only takes a clear minded persoon to learn from the past mistakes and make the best possible answer to the mistakes. ZCCM HI is going to sale the shares. What does it mean to our children and theirs? The sale of this shares is morally corrupt and bankrupt. With Copper doing well on the market and just to have a say in our God given resources as well as preserving the birth right of Zambians this deal is very questionable and needs to be revisited. ZCCM HI can not make this decision without the Govt approval. It seems it is time for harvest for those in parastale companies. These people must be careful, Abuse of office is coming back and it is their crimes and not the directives by those above them. Election times are dangerous and tempting to please govt. The jail is worse
If Rupiah can invest people’s pensions in a piece of land why then didn’t they just sell these shares to NAPSA? Those guys at Lumwana know that their mine is very close to the Uranium in Congo and the Americans have been killing people over that land. Do you think Anglo-America just aborted their mine for nothing? They hit on Uranium and for fear of the wrath that could have beholden them they opted for a smaller mine in Chile.
I might not be suprised to hear that RB could be in support of the sale of zccm shares from lumwana.Since MMD is busy using gov parastetals to steal and making illegal deals.By now Gov would have opened new mines using ZCCM Inv instead of giving large chanks of land to foreigners.We seriously need our country take control of mining sectors
well well!! If ZCCM IH is masquerading like a quasi/private equity fund I suppose the decision to sell is the right one by all accounts. Making a 400% ROI doesn’t come along too often in a company’s lifetime. Despite the “apparent” sensibility of this transaction i cant help but wonder if the up coming elections and the need for “ruling party liquidity” are somewhat linked? ZCCM IH is “our” national investment vehicle meant to safeguard our interests in the now heavily privatised mining sector? I find this sale very interesting!!! Maybe being a natural sceptic has got the better of me once again?
@6, you had previously stated that the copper price will not remain high for ever so the country must make hay while the sun shines – the gospel according to pf. so what has changed?
@7, “If Rupiah can invest people’s pensions in a piece of land why then didn’t they just sell these shares to NAPSA?” you are probably the only one who does not know that there is uranium at lumwana, it is common knowledge to everybody else. anyway to answer your question above as well as i can: NAPSA is in the business of pensions, so their investment portfolio is not likely to be in the mining industry, but likely in the real estate due to the relative stability of the returns there. mining is high profit but highly volatile and risky in comparison to real estate. if NAPSA invested in lumwana, how would your pension and mine be paid when the price of copper and shares collapse, worse when the mine closes as result?
@9, “Maybe being a natural sceptic has got the better of me once again?” most likely but you better get over it and become more optimistic. success and good things go to those who take a positive attitude to life. one way to get over your problem is to read the right literature not doomsday type where the world always ends tomorrow. but take comfort that some people are worse off than you, for example thieves don’t believe that anyone else can live without stealing. that is why you see those in pf always in disbelief that their colleagues in other parties can run the affairs of this nation without stealing, they would rather be the ones doing it and can hardly wait for a chance!!
blind optimism #12 is often a dangerous thing as well. Realism is the only answer my dear comrade! I can just imagine the opposition salivating at the prospect of being in power one day. What interests me is whether their intentions are in the very least as honourable as they make them out to be!! The success of the “First World” has been the strength and reasonable levels of professionalism of their civil service structures. In the Third World our civil service is so highly politicised that meaningful progress rarely happens. It shouldn’t matter who holds the political reins but how independent and professional the support structure, the civil service, is!!
@13, i agree with you, especially your lines “I can just imagine the opposition salivating at the prospect of being in power one day. What interests me is whether their intentions are in the very least as honourable as they make them out to be!!…….It shouldn’t matter who holds the political reins but how independent and professional the support structure, the civil service, is!!”
PF Govt, where is this $160 million going to be invested? The answer is no where. These companies are drilling bigger holes and if the leaders of to day are not thinking about the future. What a country. Today we have heard the govt sourcing money fron foreign invest to fund road works at 11hr developments. Let us not just support blindly. Political affiliations will be there but once the debt acculamulates our children and their children will be held ransom to this shortsighted borrowing. The same applies to parastale companies un necessary sale of shares that belongs to the people is reckless and a source of corruption. Look at what is happening in America regarding passing the Budget.? This is why Zambia needs a constitution that does not give the president too much power to fraud.
Equinox has gained more than they had put in so it is not a problem for them to sale and gain again,Uranium has been going out of the country with No pronouncements. We need a very tough person to run away govt becoz Foreigners are getting rich leaving us poor than before.
#15 & #16 – your comments summarised, would bring forth the question of what legacy we hope to leave our children once our natural resources have been profitably plundered!! a simple answer to this is….NOTHING!! Once the copper/uranium is finished these guys will merely pack and go!! Given that we no longer have an influential seat on the board of directors, by the the time we find out what their exit plans are they will be long gone!!
Amazing….such a helpful web page.