Mopani Copper Mines Chief Executive Officer, Nathan Bullock has been refused exit from Zambia following the placing of the mines under care and sending workers home. Bullock had arranged to exit the country last evening through Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.
But alert security officials refused him exit and he has been advised to stay in the country until the recent issue of Mopani Copper Mines Management decisions is clearly understood by government. Mopani has shut its mines in Kitwe and Mufulira and placed them under “Care and Maintenance”.
Mopani Copper Mines has also sent all workers and terminated employment for those on contracts. It has also advised its contractors to wind up affairs and return to Panama and Chile.
And Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo confirmed the development of the media in Lusaka. Mr. Kampyongo said Mr Bullock was stopped as he attempted to leave the country.
Mr. Kampyongo said the Mopani Copper Mines boss will now be transferred to Kitwe to answer queries on developments at the mining firm.
Mr. Kampyongo said he is surprised that Mr. Bullock did not inform the government of his intention to leave the country despite attending a meeting earlier in the day with officials.
He has been advised to stay in the country until issues of Mopani Copper Mine management’s decisions are clearly understood by the government.
Bullock was recently recruited as new Chief Executive Officer in November 2019 taking over from Chris Vermeulen who left the mining giant in July 2019.
Bullock joined the company from BHP Olympic Dam Mine
Bullock, a geologist holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) in Applied Geology and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Geoscience, both from the Queensland University of Technology, has a range of experience in mining and processing; including strategic planning, underground technical, concentrators and smelting/refining operations. He has also previously worked at Glencore’s Mount Isa Copper Mine and Ernest Henry Mine in Australia in a number of management roles.
At the moment not even Bullock knows what’s going to happen because he’s just been caught up in this storm. Bullock is just an employee, he didn’t make the decision to close the mine, he was instructed. ZCCM-IH whom I believe is the other shareholder must call for a meeting. Allow Bullock to go and be with his family, Mopani isn’t a Katemba owned by Bullock
Uhh has the man committed a crime for him yo be refused exit?
I didnt know the law requires a company CEO to notify government of his intentions to leave the country….
So in the past when he travelled for meetings outside the country, he got permission from kampyongo?
It will be interesting to hear what his home country will have to say about his illegal detention.
What crime has he committed? Crooks who have stolen millions and PF murderers are Scot free running the streets. Those who closed the post causing job losses at post are still busy trying to close more. You can have the minerals under ground but if you can’t process them into finished products and stop stealing and corruption nothing is going to change. Zambia will be like Chongo DR.
Even resorting to kidnapping now ??
What has this country become under lungu ??? A mafia ruled state where thugs hold the population at ransom, extortion is now a way of life ….
In such situations, Zambian should even be hurrying to shut the door behind him, but because of corruption and mismanagement , Zambia is now a basket case country.
It would have been more sensible for kapoyongo to say the exit was stoped because of the quarantine measures in place , but still this is kidnapping
Well here is a 411 for pf: Its not illegal to shut down an operation under force majeure! That is why contracts have such clauses. You cannot force an operation to continue operating at a loss unless you will fund them to cover losses.
Now, if you hadnt been borrowing irresponsibly, buying fire tracks for 42million, overpriced ambulances, 1.2billion dollars for a 316km road, FIC report highlighting ministers having millions of dollars in their accounts, and a thousand other such things, our country would not be broke. We would have money in reseve to see us through this difficult patch
Our goverment is full of wealthy individuals as clearly shown by the FIC report. Perhaps the can inject some of their millions of dollars into mopani, instead of kidnapping an innocent CEO who is simply doing his job to protect the interests of a PRIVATE COMPANY’S shareholders!!!!
Mukose fye. The chinese will soon be demanding for the nation’s assets. They never show mercy when it’s comes to loans. They are a true shylock. They will get their pound of flesh. When you where busy running to them to get billions of USD for the purpose of overpriced contracts, you didnt think the day will come, did you?
shame…Let Bullock be!!! You are now imposing the blame on an innocent soul due to your failure and mismanagement!!
Procedure for C&M is 3 months notice, donkeys. Mopani gave 24hr notice. This matter is not about PF but the nation. Copper is our biggest export asset and it must be managed carefully. Mines shouldn’t dictate conditions but adhere to laws of the land. Glencore has a habit of doing such in trying times, that’s what they did to their coal mine in RSA and the govt. there penalised them heavily. Now you donkeys here are supporting them?? Awe shuwa…
Only in Zambia…CEO kidnapped by the state
Thugs are running the country
Zambian Citizen, your referring to fellow bloggers as donkeys exposes your cadre mentality and certainly leaves much to be desired. You are behaving like your paymasters. Of greater importance, give thought to what message your Government is sounding to investors, both foreign and local. Wake up Bonehead!!! Our country is going down the tubes because of the likes of you. All you guys think of is CHEWING. You care less about the future of Zambia, our people. Too bad.
The mismanagement is so glaring that now these guys are just resorting to thuggery that they brought from the streets whence the sheeple elected them from. Surely what did we do to deserve this? Mulekeni mwine ayende!!! Alaaa!
@Mumba: It is donkeys like you who are the reason why I call you donkeys!!! You are resistant to the truth and prefer to see only your side of things. So it’s ok for you for an investor to just decide to pack and go regardless of the social and economic impact??? Why hasn’t FQM in N/Western done the same?? Would investors behave like that in Saudi Arabia or even Europe without consequences?? But because you hate PF, it’s ok and the investor can wreck the economy when they feel like?? Who is chewing what?? Get a life, useless donkey!!!
Am always facinated when a cadre, who know nothing, cant do an honest day’s work, and survives on bootlicking tries to come out like he knows anything apart from bootlicking!
Of course this is about PF! Who is it that has mismanaged the economy? Who has been overpricing contracts and promoting corruption and destroying the business environment? Who has been handing over the economy to the chinese at the expense of local businesses and geniune investors?
But back to this one…Ever heard of FORCE MAJEURE? Which is what glencore have declared? I know you havent. Google it and do some consultation with a contract lawyer. After that come back and post, instead of commenting based on patchy information you have heard parroted among cadre circles. Not all of us are as ignorant and shallow,…
There is Corona virus ravaging. You’d expect any CEO to make serious decisions (Force majeure) whether to continue operating or not & if Board is OK with it, that is it. You want him to hang out there where you don’t even have a dozen ventilators for your 17 million inhabitants? It is time to evacuate. A lot of countries are evacuating their nationals from abroad. WHY? Can anyone guarantee his safety in the midst of this pandemic? Let the guy go home.
Look at the diasporans above calling for Bullock to be left alone. They are used to siding with their colonial masters even at the expense of their own fellow zambian and relatives. They have been programmed to hate themselves and they don’t even know it. To Bullock that is a low move. Be a man and face the music. You can run but you can’t hide. Plus with Corona be careful with your movement because if lusambo nabs you kaya
The argument is what is obtaining at Mopani which qualifies the decision to be FORCE MAJEURE? The government has mismanaged the economy but does indorse wrong doing at will? Which CEO would leave a country or office at decisive moment like this? Has he been fired? IS he running away from accountability. Glencore on this one did not do their math properly towards the implementation of the new mining system….it is not corona and copper prices because already the copper price is over $5000 per ton.
Mopani is owned by ZCCM-IH @10%, FQM @16.9% and Glencore @73.1% so where is Bullock in this? You can detain him until Xmas he won’t open the mine. ZCCM-IH and FQM must seek audience with Glencore, that’s the way it’s done. Obviously you didn’t learn that from Katondo street. You’re embarrassing us
The new Employment Code Act places CEOs, MDs, any Manager liable in their capacity for any breach proved to have been occasioned by ill advice, incompetence or deliberate intent when aware of the legal requirement!
Bullock was legally aware that you do not place people on hold or otherwise without involving the Unions and the Labour Ministry.
So bane when the when the great USA and Canada detained a chinese national simply because she was a cfo of a company an they had suspicions of company malpractice it was ok right. Zambia restricts travel for a ceo that has essentially declared a company closed, job loss for possibly 11,000 persons without following laid down procedures mwaima nu ni miponto.. lets reflect a little the methods deployed may be arguably harsh but the principle of it remains sound. My take
Leave that intelligent white man alone. Today you want to detain him because of your failures? You need that white man to keep those mines going . Without the white man you are nothing. I have worked under black and white managers here in the UK and I can tell you that black ones were more insecure and weak managers. White is right
There are a lot of Zambians that have an inferiority complex. Learn to be like Ethiopians, or the majority of Tanzanians. In Tanzania one of Indian origin will sell Samusas with the locals in the streets because the don’t worship foreign humans aimlessly like some Zambians. This dude abrogated Zambia’s futures; his person whether kidnapped or not has to answer for the 11 000 Zambians he is leaving in limbo.
@Journeyman-sad that you turned out to be a donkey!! Which economy has been mismanaged?? Since 2015, the Zambian economy has grown not receded, inflation has been stable, exchange rate has taken a knock due to the commodities bust like all commodity dependant countries. Today if the PF GRZ hadn’t built all those hospitals unlike Mwanawasa who prided himself with 1 UTH, covid-19 would have ravaged the country. But then again, a person who would side with foreigners at the expense of his fellow countrymen is just down right pathetic, a traitor-the reason Africa is backwards. You would rather believe the imperialist narrative that African leaders are corrupt and are thieves; ONLY MUZUNGU IS THE ANSWER TO OUR PROBLEMS. Colonised and a donkey. That’s why Vladimir Putin scoffs at people like…
The problem is that few read and understand what they read. So far no job has been lost at Mopani, all Mopani employees will continue to receive their salaries. There’s no violation of the employment code yet. GRZ is following the wrong guy using a wrong approach
Well done GRZ. The guy has work to do ..why should he go without sorting out the issues? Let him sort out issues surrounding Mopani. Let GRZ be strong on these guys who have the old colonial mentality of viewing a Black as a no body to them. What they are doing they cant do in their own countries. Ask the poor Diaspora community, they will tell you that they are taxed even on the ka money they are paid for washing plates. Thats how serious those countries are. But here they don’t even want to pay reasonable tax. Really it is so nauseating.
I quote from a daughter of Africa, Dr. Chihombori-Quao:
“The most dangerous element for Africa today is The Still Colonized African Mind.
Let us decolonize ourselves and eliminate the legacy of slavery.”
Wow did you figure that out all by yourself? Bravo!
Am sure you have earned your month’s pay with that bit of cheap propaganda.
You remind me of other totalitarian regime stooges that flourish on claims of fighting “oppression” and barking about colonialism. Wake up and smell the coffee. This is almost 60yrs after independence and you are still talking about colonialism. Other nations that got independence around the sametime are miles ahead. You are still blaming colonialism.
And to refer to vladamir putin is just laughable! A totalitarian dictator is your role model! Just wow!
And those stats about PF performance are astounding!
Economic growth when MSC died was above 6%. Today its less than 3%
Forex reserves where around 4billion USD. Today they are practically ZERO.
Foreign debt was around 20% of GDP. Today its above 70%!
Corruption index is in the stratosphere.
Ati inflation has been stable. smh. I wonder who the donkey is with this kind of analysis. But then again I know you need to feed your family brother so you have to work. There are school fees, rent, etc to be paid.
This can turn out to be a major diplomatic Lemmon for PF as they seek investores.
Better if they used the C19 quarantine excuse if they needed to keep him in Zambia for more information from him…
Lungu definitely has very very thick advisores…….you are self harming Zambia with your ignorance.
@Journeyman-And what caused that economic growth to be around 5% or 7% during MCS or Levy’s presidencies??? HIGH COPPER PRICES, donkey!!!! Commodities boom!!! Look at Angola, Gabon or Nigeria today, why are their reserves dwindling??? Oil was at $120 high to a low of $28 today, what do you expect, man??? Free your mind and analyse, man, don’t fill your head with sh!t from opposition politicians who are being sponsored by imperialists to disrupt our political landscape!!! Corruption index??? How many convictions have been yielded?? You want the Mwanawasa task force back that yielded 1% conviction rates??????
And for the record, Vladimir Putin is a Russian hero who save his country from a drunk imperialist stooge who ravaged his country with privitisation. He has grown Russia’s gdp from Yeltsin’s low of $195m to over $1.6tr today!!! A totalitarian dictator?? Check your head, donkey!!!!
@Ayatollah. Where you my dear? No one is going underground to work. All contracts for contractors have been terminated and all they are doing is demobilising.
Please leave race out of this? The skin color of the Mopani CEO is not the issue. Deal with this with facts. Employment, conflicting priorities namely financial losess for mopani if they operate at low metal prices versus loss of forex for the country and difficulties that will cause in debt servicing & maintaining forex reserves. Also what will the perception of the outside world, international creditors
Mutilateral and bilateral partners, investors (both Zambian and foreign) viz a viz rule of law and investment protection. Is asset grabbing the new norm? When we went to borrow those Eurobonds, Is it Mopani or FQM which forced us to do so. How did we use the Eurobond money. Did we invest in productive projects or we used the money to pay salaries, threw it down the Zambia Railways drain…
Continued: Or did we use the eurobond monies to artificially prop the Kwacha at 5zmw to 8zmw to 1USD. Are we going to receive FDI or experience capital flight? What happened to the Zambian economy the last time suffered from capital flight in the 70s, 80s and early 90s. Who will lend us money under such conditions. Some will say China. Zimbabwe has been pursuing a look to the east policy from Mugabe days. Had anything improved in that country? And does China owe us our existence?
@Zambian Citizen , You have really worked very hard today…am sure a cheque is coming your way. To even say the economy is doing fine beats my imagination. Anyway on 36 people have viewed this article as i speak, mostly from the diaspora where people can speak freely (including the Kaizer Zulu Clone)… SO YOU CAN RANT YOUR LUNGS OUT, IT WONT CHANGE A THING..IT WONT MAKE THINGS ANY BETTER FOR A COMMON ZAMBIAN EXCEPT FOR A LUNATIC LIKE U…..KEEP ON RANTING MAN, YOU NEED THAT CHEQUE …
Never argue with a fool! ..Some people might not notice the difference!
Roy Mudenda – Dont mind bloggers like Zambian Citizen this guy is as thick as porridge last time he was justifying that Dr Chilufya’s valuation of $280,000 for a SWB Mercedes Benz Ambulance was right when he has never seen or been out of the country…this is the caliber of individual you are debating with …thick as two short planks.
The best and most intelligent comments on this page is @Zambian Citizen. He has facts backing his write up. @kajeema also provided a legal argument about Management liability which is plausible legally.In this case it was correct to stop him as he has acted like a dictator over Mopani. Took action without consulting with the govt. It’s typical Mining Conglomerate behaviour, they serve only their interests.
NATIONALISATION is the clear indication in many unsatisfactory dealings with Mining companies during these last few decades. Zambian Citizen is correct in pointing out President Lungus’ successes. His administration has been let down by criminal Investors and terrible multi-party chaos, so bad you wonder who opposition think is President!
The CEO wants to go and work from home. Those comparing Huwawei CFO’s detention in Canada to this are comparing lemonade with peanut butter smoothie. That one is being sought after by documented procedure (that is why she is not yet in the USA). This one kaya unless we learn what the details are. Yes, like most things I usually discover there is a sliver of legalese that the PF uses which in most cases is hinged on some very narrow technicality.
Why do those who hate Zambia make negative comments, which are primarily opportunistic and plainly disagreeable. They don’t endear themselves to indigenous local citizens residing in Zambia. It’s all very juvenile and is fooling no one.
Zambia has had it’s most successful development period from Presidents Sata and Lungu. We have growth in all quarters of economic developments other than just infrastructure. We have Right to own Freehold Land. Many citizens ‘own’ their own homes more than at anytime in our history. Entrepreneurial activity is higher. You’ve got to acknowledge good. Environment generally, is hopeful for citizens. Well done to PF Administrative. PF 2021, again and again.
Zambian Citizen ,pls change your name to yo true origins – “Congole Citize”. Cos all the crap u are yapping is jst offal. I dont know if u yoself hear sense in what u saying or not cos what u saying is totally senseless. U speak like a terminally ill TB patient(apologies to the truelly ill) . Stop telling us yo wishes pls, jst go to home afffairs & apply for residence. They ll help u. Am sure
It does not work like that the man you have kidnapped is just innocent him too got his an employee and not even happy loosing the job same like other employees when doing a deal it was quiet fine and you where all enjoying it is so fanny I can say the man has no problems you just damaging Zambia my Mother Land Image it is the decision of the owners not Him
Now people will suffer because of certain people interests (Kitwe and Mufulira) Bushe tuleya kwisa nomba mayo wandi twalacula nomba
LOL, and now this clown says Zambia has had its most economic boom under Sata and Lungu?
Anyways,
ATI some guy broke my heart
Elo ninshi nali loyal from start
Bushe nkatemwa libili mwati, ukufuma apo I don’t trust nobody (nobody)
All men are fimo fimo
Ukushumfwa kulapula muchipimo limo
You guys are only good at cheating
How many people did/does prime TV employe? What’s the fuss with just 11,000 employees? Just wondering?
It appears we are not capable of thinking outside the box.. we don’t way consequences before we act.. that in itself is immaturity.. our leaders are indeed immature hence the pertaining situation in our beloved country.. our appointed and elected leaders choose to resolve issues by physical fits and beatings.. do these issues involving paying taxes and generating income require physical fighting and beating those that cant temporarily defend themselves?
Our leaders actions have contributed to Zambia being downgraded by Fitch.. are you still arguing that it’s not a leadership crisis?
From some comments on here, Zambia desperately needs a reading culture that can articulate to inform rather than abuse fellow bloggers in a derogatory manner.. it’s not even a Joke!
Per the Mining Regulations, the Mine Manager is the legal representative of the mine owner.
That being the case, why is GRZ holding the CEO? Am I missing something here?
I think such recklessness will come to haunt the PIG (party and its Govt!) in the final analysis.
They should have let him go and deny him entry
KZ insulting well meaning citizens will not insulate you as public enemy of Zambia. You or impostor, Zambians will not forget that you have harassed, beaten, maimed, humiliated, kidnapped, fired guns and shot Zambians and dehumanise Zambians. Zambians deserve justice and time is coming to get it. Cleansing yourself on this site will not wash up, records, living witnesses exist and testimonies will be in your face.