Zambia’s largest copper miner, First Quantum Minerals – FQM’s Kansanshi Mine of Solwezi has appointed Anthony Mukutuma as General Manager.
Mukutuma has become the first Zambian to take over from David De Vries and hold such a post at Kansanshi which is the largest copper mine in Africa by production.
Mukutuma has 20 years of experience in operations and management of mineral processing and hydrometallurgical plants, covering business development, research and development, design and design optimization, commissioning, process optimization (including bottlenecking), operations management, business performance improvement and talent development.
Before his appointment, Mukutuma run First Quantum Minerals Guelb Moghrein copper-gold mine in Mauritania, and most recently was General Manager for the restart of operations at its Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation in Australia.
According to a statement emailed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on July 8, 2020, Mutukuma’s previous designations include, the position of metallurgist in minerals processing at the Konkola Division of the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines – ZCCM.
He has also worked in hydrometallurgy at Anglo American’s research laboratories in South Africa, from senior metallurgist to plant manager, then technical manager at First Quantum Minerals’ Bwana Mkubwa Mine processing plant in Ndola. He also worked as plant manager at the early stages of the Kevitsa Mine project in Finland.
Mukutuma holds a BEng in chemical engineering with minerals engineering from the University of Birmingham and an MBA in accounting and finance from the University of Liverpool.
FQM Country Manager General Kingsley Chinkuli is proud to announce the appointment of Mukutuma as the new general manager for Kansanshi Mine saying it’s a significant milestone for the company and it reinforces its commitment to providing equal opportunities for all, regardless of gender, race or creed.
“Management wishes him all the best in his new role as GM. We are confident he will be equal to the task and we are eager to tap into the vast knowledge he has acquired in the last 20 years in the industry. This is one of numerous appointments that have seen senior Zambian staff taking on top management positions not just at Kansanshi and its sister Sentinel Mine in Kalumbila but also other mines under the FQM group world”, He said
He added that the company would continue to create an enabling environment where employees have an opportunity to progressively rise through the ranks.
Kansanshi has around 3,300 direct staff and about 5,000 contractors, most of whom are primarily Zambians and uses state of the art technology to extract copper from three different ore types with world-class efficiency.
