Social Anthropologist James Musonda says the sustained stagnation of Mopani Copper Mines and Konkola Copper Mines(KCM) will see the country’s aspirations to grow annual copper production figures thwarted starting with this year where he has predicted that Zambia may not improve its figures.
The country produced just over 850,000 tons last year, but Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe envisages an output of 1.3 million this year with first quarter figures set to be released in the coming week.
Dr. Musonda says with Mopani tied to the alleged bad Glencore deal that the multinational company will continue to make profit while Zambia does all the work and KCM is still engulfed in court cases leaving both needing excessive capital to become profitable.
He argues that the government has not done anything within the last 8 months to create a foundation to begin growing these figures and remains pessimistic that even this year’s copper production will show no significant progress and cast a hopeless future on the aspirations to grow production to 3 million tons annually.
He says it remains worrying that Zambia’s third and fourth largest producers of copper remain stagnant and without direction from government in terms of the in excess of $300 million needed to make both mines profitable respectively, leaving the country’s production mass to the mines in north western province.
Who got us into this mess and do they thing with such ventures its an overnight solution
and considering the amount to make them viable again ?
Since when do anthropologists know anything about MINES???
People should stop expecting heaven and earth from the mines……..
And look at improving other industries, is mining all zambia has ???
We have tourism, media , manufacturing, agriculture………..
I think people expect everything from the mines because someone else is doing the mining ………….
And other industries need work from scratch …………
Lazy bums………
Don’t expect miracles from Kabuswe, he’s a former staunch PF cadre.
#3 Spaka.. education killed ZAMBIA. KK didn’t want to depend entirely on the mines and that’s why he set up industries all over the place in addition to his back to land policy. But like children of successful business man we destroyed this ground work. It will be difficult if not impossible.
Close and withdrawn any permits issued for new Cooper mines such as the one in LZNP that will cause heave destruction to neihgbouring States , the Biodiversität ,
Damage to tourism economics , as food supply to resident tribes and the Population. No Mining in National Parks