The Association of Mine Suppliers and Contractors of Zambia (AMSCZ) has called on the President-elect Hakainde Hichilema and his government to ask the owner of Chambishi Metals Plc to hand it over to the Government as it is clear that they have failed to run it.
Eurasian Resources Group – ERG Africa operates Chambishi Metals, a cobalt and copper electro-metals refinery north of Kitwe, which produces copper cathode and cobalt metal.
The Chambishi plant has been on care and maintenance for over a year now leaving over 200 miners jobless.
AMSCZ president Augustine Mubanga said the new government should quickly ask ERG Africa to hand over the plant to government, as it is apparent that it had failed to run the plant.
“We would like to see the fact that the previous owners should quickly be asked to hand over the plant to government because it is apparent that they have failed to run the plant for the past two years, that is very indicative,” Mubanga said.
He told the Zambian Business Times-ZBT in an interview that once the government takes over the operations, the new administration should take steps to either give the operations to ZCCM-IH or find another serious investor into the plant.
Mubanga observed that Chambishi metals plant was still viable as a lot of materials that can be used to process were readily available.
He implored the new government to take serious steps to ensure that the assets at Chambishi Metals do not go to waste, as it has been the case in the last two years.
“The plant is still very viable because there is a lot of materials that can be used to process. You know Lumwana has no processing plant and much of their materials comes to KCM or Chambishi and other smelting companies like Mopani.
Chambishi metals as a plant still has a lot of materials that they can access from the north western operations to keep the jobs, to keep the operations and to have the plant contribute to the economic agenda of the country.
“So we would like to implore the new government to take serious steps to ensure that the assets do not go to waste as it has been in the last two years and the owner was hiding under the Covid situation but we want to see that plant becomes viable and productive,” Mubanga added.
