The mining firm, which is the country’s largest copper producer and taxpayer, stresses that one of the key elements in making Zambia an attractive investment destination is ensuring the economic competitiveness of its mining sector.
FQM country manager General Kingsley Chinkuli says the Government’s decision to revise Statutory Instrument (SI) 76 of 2017 by giving mining industry freight vehicles the exemption they require to move around the clock is hugely welcome.
General Chinkuli explains that the ban on the night-time movement of freight and goods vehicles had severely hampered the mining company’s operations.
He says the firm produces around half of the country’s copper and between its Kansanshi and Sentinel mines; some 40-50 truckloads of copper concentrate and at least 30 truckloads of finished copper travel on the Solwezi-Chingola road every day.
General Chinkuli says they believe when transport systems are safe and efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in positive multiplier effects, such as better accessibility to markets, employment and additional investments.
General Chinkuli adds that the US$5.7 billion investment the Company has made in its Sentinel and Kansanshi mines and the smelter demonstrates the importance of the mining sector to the Zambia’s economy.
History:
Chinkuli was heading ground soldiers.
Peter Zuze was heading air-force strikes.
I