Zambia’s mining minister said on Wednesday Namibian miner Ongopolo Mining and Processing had made inquiries about purchasing the troubled Roan Antelope Mining Corporation (Ramcoz), and it was welcome to do due diligence.
Ongopolo said on Tuesday it was seeking to re-open Ramcoz’s Luanshya and Baluba copper and cobalt mines on the Zambian copperbelt by securing efficiency gains that will make the operations profitable.
The mines were closed in 2000 after owners Ireland-registered Binani Group failed to meet their financial obligations, such as routine staff salaries and electricity payments. The government says it spends thousands of dollars daily pumping water out of the mines to prevent it from flooding.
”If they (Ongopolo) want to do due diligence, they will be allowed to do so,” said Davison Mulela, Zambia’s mining and minerals development minister.
”Ramcoz…is open to anyone who would like to buy it,” said Mulela, adding that the government was encouraging competitive bidding for the mines and had set an end-January deadline to receive bids for the mine.
Mulela said Ongopolo executives had held talks with the government on various other mining opportunities, but no specific agreements had been reached. He gave no details.
Ongopolo Managing Director Andre Neethling told Reuters in Namibia on Tuesday that his firm would send a team of experts to finalise the deal on Ramcoz before the end of the year.
He said the amount of money to be invested on the re-opening of the mines would depend on the outcome of discussions with the receiver of the mines.
Ongopolo is a two-year-old joint venture formed after management bought some of the assets of Tsuemb Copper Mines Limited — liquidated in 1998 after a labour dispute. – Reuters