COMMENT - I like the word extraction much more than production. The copper was already there. - MrK
(LUSAKA TIMES) First Quantum posts rise in Q2 copper output, braces for power cuts in Zambia
August 2, 2018
First Quantum Minerals saw an increase in copper output in the second quarter and is now bracing for a month-long power supply reduction at its Kansanshi and Sentinel copper mines in Zambia.
First Quantum Minerals CEO Clive Newall told analysts during a conference call on Tuesday that the company produced 150,950 mt of copper over April-June, up from 141,912 mt a year earlier.
Mr Newall said first half production totaled 296,308 mt, up from 274,268 mt in H1 2017.
“Our copper production exceeded last year’s comparable period as drier weather conditions in Zambia returned,” Mr. Newall said.
“While metal prices are being negatively affected by global political concerns, demand for copper remains robust. We continue to sell all of our production into a market where there is excess demand.”
Mr. Newall said his company has been advised by ZESCO that electricity to First Quantum’s Kansanshi and Sentinel mines will be reduced from around end July to facilitate maintenance and upgrades to the electricity network.
However, the power cuts are expected to be “only marginally below what we need to run optimally,” he said.
“It’s not going to have a material impact on our guidance going forward and we’re doing what we can to make the most of the power that is available,” he added.
Labels: CLIVE NEWALL, COPPER, FQM
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Govt should stick to monitoring new BoZ Act implementation - Newall
By Kabanda Chulu and Gift Chanda
Fri 12 Apr. 2013, 14:00 CAT
GOVERNMENT should restrict itself to monitoring the implementation of the new Bank of Zambia Act because any extension of its application towards currency control will negatively affect the economy, says First Quantum Mineral (FQM) president Clive Newall.
Government has made amendments to the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Act whose objective is to regulate foreign exchange inflows and outflows and amounts remitted, and monitor international transactions in services and investment in the form of equity and debt securities abroad.
The new Act also seeks to maximise international money transfers into and out of Zambia and monitor profits and dividends received in respect of investments abroad.
There are concerns that these new regulations would scare away investors especially that the Zambian economy was based on free market policies hence some investors might consider pulling out or scaling-down their investments.
But government has argued that the new Act would stop capital flight and compel investors, especially mining companies, to spend foreign exchange locally to result in stability of the kwacha.
When asked to comment on the matter and if FQM, which owns Kansanshi Mines Plc, had engaged the Zambian government to dialogue on the Act, Newall confirmed that conversations had been held with government about the new law.
"We have been given assurances that it is simply legislation to allow monitoring of currency movements, rather than currency control. We will, of course, monitor the implementation of this Act and enabling legislation as any extension of its application towards currency control would be an unwelcome development," stated Newall, in an emailed response.
"We cannot, in any case, overlook the increasingly heavy administrative burden being placed on investors by this and similar recent measures."
Meanwhile, First Quantum Minerals has indirectly acquired a 3.7 per cent stake in Zincore Metals after its "takeover" of Inmet Mining Corporation last month, the company has said.
First Quantum, which operates in Zambia, acquired control of Inmet Mining Corporation on March 21, 2013.
Inmet holds 7,820,500 Zincore Shares representing 3.7 per cent of the issued and outstanding Zincore Shares.
"Together with Zincore Shares indirectly held by First Quantum prior to its acquisition of Inmet, First Quantum has control of 49,888,245 Zincore Shares, representing 23.7 per cent of the issued and outstanding Zincore Shares," the company said in a statement.
Zincore Metals is an exploration company focused on the identification, acquisition, exploration, evaluation and development of primarily Zinc and related base metals projects in the Americas.
First Quantum Minerals (FQM) is Zambia's biggest copper producer and is currently spending US$2 billion on its Trident project which it says would help increase its Zambian copper production to almost 700,000 tonnes yearly by 2015.
The company is also spending US$1.3 billion to $1.4 billion on an expansion at Kansanshi, already Africa's biggest copper mine.
Labels: BOZ, CLIVE NEWALL, FIRST QUANTUM MINING, MINING
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Mining giants spar over disputed DRC mine
PHILIPPE VALAT - Sep 26 2010 07:26
A bitter dispute between two London-listed mining giants over copper assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo has shone a spotlight on business risks in one of the world's most corrupt countries.
At the centre of the dispute are the rights to a copper mine in Kolwezi, in the south-east of the DRC, that were owned by First Quantum Minerals (FQM) before it was stripped of them by Congolese authorities in August 2008.
To make matters worse, a year later the rights to the mine were sold on at a bargain basement price to rival
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), which is listed in London but controlled by Kazakh capital.
London and Toronto-listed FQM has appealed to international tribunals and says it is suing ENRC for "billions" of dollars.
FQM says there is "no legal basis" for its ejection from the DRC market, which saw it lose the rights to three mines, and has alleged that it was ejected because it refused to pay bribes.
The company is waiting for a ruling from the International Court of Arbitration in Paris, and this week its chief executive Clive Newall said he would take the matter to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington, promising to "fight to the bitter end," according to a source close to the company.
For its part, Kinshasa has said it is examining "irregularities" in FQM's business and is investigating "information suggesting the leaders of the company were involved in embezzlement".
Despite some shareholders expressing public disapproval over its conduct, ENRC said that pragmatism sometimes had to prevail in the ruthless world of business.
It bought the mine for $175-million in August 2009 through an Israeli subsidiary when copper prices were at a record high.
Danger of doing business in the DRC
"There have been some questions involving morals. But I think we can defend our position clearly," ENRC chairperson Johannes Sittard told the Financial Times on Thursday.
A key figure in the dispute has been one of ENRC's directors, former GlaxoSmithKline president Sir Richard Sykes, a City veteran.
The Sunday Times last week accused Sir Richard of betraying the confidence of investors by approving the purchase of the Kolwezi mine.
The affair also highlights the dangers of doing business in the DRC, with the Sunday Times quoting a World Bank official as saying that it "raises the red flag".
Resource-rich DRC is plagued by instability and is ranked among the world's 20 most corrupt nations by governance watchdog Transparency International. - AFP
Labels: CLIVE NEWALL, COPPER, CORRUPTION, DRC, ENRC, EURASIAN NATURAL RESOURCES CORPORATION, FIRST QUANTUM MINING, MINING, NEOCOLONIALISM
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