ILLEGAL miners at Konkola Copper Mine’s (KCM) Nchanga South Open pit in Chingola have destroyed equipment worth K 500 million.
KCM production manager Osward Mulenga and Public relations manager Joy Sata confirmed that about over 80 illegal miners were found at the open pit on Monday afternoon and that one of them has since been arrested.
Mr Mulenga said the illegal miners went into the open pit mine to allegedly steal copper oils but they were caught by the mine and Zambia police officers.
He said the illegal miners who where armed with machetes and bars outnumbered the officers, started throwing stones and in the process destroyed equipments at the mine.
Mr Mulenga said the illegal miners started throwing stones at the slop stability radar and destroyed the equipment which monitors the activities around mine premises.
“The slop stability radar is used to monitor movements around the pit and the illegal miners knew that we would not be able to see their movements and that’s why they were aiming at destroying it.
“Apart from destroying the Cameras on the slop stability radar they also removed the autonator and some cables from the machine so that we could lose track of them,” Mr Mulenga said.
[pullquote]“We have since written to the Commissioner of police to assist us in finding out what’s causing all these illegal mining activities and she said she would come to our aid this week,” Mr Sichula said.[/pullquote]
He said the illegal miners further damaged windows of a driller and a land cruiser at the open pit mine.
“The driller was just recently acquired at a total cost of 1.2 million dollars and it will cost us a lot to have it fixed but for the time being we have hired a driller from Zambezi drillers who we are going to pay K 3.500 monthly,” he said.
He added that the mine had also lost about 60 tons of copper oils during the confusion with the illegal miners.
And Ms Sata appealed to all stakeholders including Government and various civil society organizations to come on board and help solve the issue of illegal mining as the issue was getting out of hand.
She said the issue of illegal mining did not only affect the production at KCM but the whole country because most of the revenue was going to waste.
And Chingola District Commissioner George Sichula said illegal mining activities had increased not only at KCM but in most mines and that they was need for Government to intervene and help find solutions to ending illegal activities in mines.
Mr Sichula said when toured the open pit that there was need to involve various stakeholders when coming up with plans on how to end illegal activities at the mine.
“We have since written to the Commissioner of police to assist us in finding out what’s causing all these illegal mining activities and she said she would come to our aid this week,” Mr Sichula said.
He said there was need to harden the punishment for people who would be found engaging in illegal mining saying that the current punishment which was six months imprisonment was not adequate to stop illegal activities from taking place.
A lot of indiscipline every where can the authorities take charge please.The ship captain make a national plan.
hello boyi. Those who stay near orange fruit farms eat fruits, ask Zambia sugar, chimusolo, including government. Those mines belong to Zambians more for them directly than on behalf through government. By the way national discipline does not subside hunger under survival call
These are not illegal miners. They are criminals and need to be jailed! Ubututu abena Zambia!
BUFI – How come it’s only at this Indian run “shop” KCM where such happens.
KCM thought they will manage to mine when they failed to pay Moolmans.
These Indians want to run KCM like a shop. From where I seat, the Driller could have packed up, and there too broke to replace it. They now have resorted to hiring from Zambezi Drillers, who they won’t even pay.
Iwe Nubian Princess why do you always generalise your sentiments? Have you ever assessed every Zambian to gauge ati batutu? ‘Abena Zambia’ bakwisa! Just because we’re in the diaspora doesn’t render everyone home ubututu. Awe muchinje. You have a very respectable name.
at copper oils,kuli copper yaso mu zed,ba LT?
Copper ORES. These chaps only follow dirty politics. They know nothing about mining.
Do not call them illegal miners, call them alternative miners. Zambia and particularly Copperbelt belongs to them. They also need to benefit from copper. Not just foreigners. If jobs cannot be given to them, at least copper which they own should sustain them. Just look at Chingola, what is there to show that it is a giant copper producer. Terrible roads, terrible dirty water supply, no recreation facilities.
I salute Jerabos. Let them not be denied chance to also benefit from copper. And if govt cares, jerabos can be empowered as small scale miners. Give them incentives like you give to foreigners whose only interest is profit. Our copper is building universities in India. Why can’t local people benefit also.
Shot them.
I.diot you can’t even spell shoot or now the difference between tenses! Shaaa!
I believe you mean “Know” and not “now” Mushota?
Ha ha ha Talk of Bakolwe ukusekana ifipato !You guys are crazy!
This is very disturbing. Surely, adequate security is required for such sensitive and costly equipment. KCM should answer a number of questions here before whoever insured the equipment coughs up the huge amounts involved?
1. How has KCM performed recently in terms of profitability? Is the rate of profit still increasing or declining? If profits are no longer as high as projected KCM could be playing a dirty game here.
2. If the Slop Stability Radar (SSR) used to monitor movements around the pit was really functioning, how come the security personnel were unable to detect the big group of people who breached the security?
3. Apart from the SSR what other security measures had KCM put in place to secure the sensitive and costly equipment and the copper ore at the site.
More…
KCM is the only mine who for a long time, there input VAT has always being more then OUTPUT.
In short you as the Zambian people have indirectly being paying KCM workers salaries. Let them just pack and go.
The Insurance company will at least ask the questions unless there is some collusion of some sort.
Imwe ba LT what is copper oils?be serious your site is accessible internationally.
Too bad, so what is the next step? putting them in jail wouldnt be a long lasting solution, find a win win solid solution to ensure this does not happen again.
What are copper oils? Anyone who’s been only up to grade seven and understands just a little bit of copper processing knows there is no such thing as copper oils. Surely you mean copper ORE?
This is as a result of the inequality that exist between locals and foeigners in mining.These copper ores are meant to benefit Zambians but the opposite exists.I don`t encourage illegal activities but in this case I support the so called illegal miners.If there are no benefits trickling down from these failed indians at KCM then let our people do what ever helps them feed their families.If PF is not careful another boko haram can imerge out of this. let our minerals benefit our people and not the other way round.Imagine these Indians miners enjoy a lot of free b`s from cheap electricity,no tax and yet locals are taxed heavely for what?.So what are the police protecting these Indians for?.Mines which are adding no value excerpt cheap figures on paper which are only benefiting foreigners?.
Give them jobs ,they will stop these illegal practises.
“Mr Mulenga said the illegal miners went into the open pit mine to allegedly steal copper oils but….”
Someone help me understand. What are ‘copper oils’?
copper oils is a new lubricant found at kcm only.
i really don’t know its use and its market value but going by the lullaby going on, it should be very expensive. LOL!
Good well done for causing the damage, well done. And well done for going and mining some of that wealth. The mine is not doing anything different to what those poor people are doing… also at least the people will sell the copper, feed their families and when they shop they ll pay VAT to the government. Some of these mining firms don’t pay taxes at all, am not sure if KCM does, they might do, but if they don’t then they too are illegal miners. If the mines paid taxes the people wouldn’t have the need to take this drastic action, because they would have better social conditions. I applaud my fellow citizens that do these things.
Thieves stealing from fellow thieves!!
This looks to me like one of those stunts pulled by this Mine run in a typical indian shop Mentality.
To start with the amount can’t be K500million, that’s equivalent to $100million, no SSR costs that much.
Last time I checked, Vendata has failed to run the mine, the equipment could have just failed, yet these Indians are too broke to repair or replace it. There just common thieves, who don’t even pay taxes to the Government.
KCM only benefits Indians so kudos to the illegal miners…keep it up
It looks all those commenting did not bother to read Times of Zambia where this news first appeared. From Times of Zambia it goes to Allafrica and from there it comes to LT with all typo mistakes. K500,000,0000 =$98,000,000. Yaba.
In as much as I do not support criminality. There are no jobs in Chingola, a lot of families depend on these boys and girls who pick copper ore from the dumps. The best KCM and Government should do is to buy the copper ore from the “Alternative Miners”
When Agnlo American operated the mines the economic effect was felt in the whole CB. Remember KCM IS/WAS one of the largest producer in the world. Why not employing them as “Alternative Miners”
Dear Reporter,
Try to be investigative especially on technical things like the slop stability radder. Like its name, the radder is not used for monitoring the slop or ground movement, not people.
Let me explicitly say that i do not support any illegal activities. However, these mines should pay their right shares of taxes if they want these activities to end. Zambians have been crying for this for a long time but they are always negotiating better deals at the expense of poor Zambians. Imagine that these miners had their children in better schools, had better healthy care, good food, decent jobs, etc, do you think they will take the trouble?.
The picture i see and the story are inconsistent. While the story indicates these people were with machetes and stones, the people in the picture are with neither. Instead some of them have their hands folded.
I am also wondering why out of 80 that were found only 1 was arrested and yet we have the security. The story just doesn’t add…
drilling machine was damage. a drill was damaged. driller is a person who works with the drill.The driller was just recently acquired at a total cost of 1.2 million dollars.WRONG
The drill was just recently acquired at a total cost of 1.2 million dollars. CORRECT
Iwe Chi Mushota, you are laughing at my English and yet you can’t spell the word know correctly, Ahahahahah ati no instead of know Pushi iwe.
I read this article completely on the topic of the difference of
newest and earlier technologies, it’s awesome article.
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