Glencore will sell its entire 73.1% stake in Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines to the government’s mining investment arm ZCCM-IH rather than becoming a minority stakeholder. Zambian Mines Minister Richard Musukwa had said on Tuesday that Zambia and Swiss-based Glencore are at “cross purposes” over Mopani. He also announced that ZCCM-IH aims to increase its shareholding in Mopani to 51% “or even more”, from 10% currently.
This move to take control of Mopani is part of its strategy shift away from minority stakes and towards running mines as an operator. Glencore wrote off the value of Mopani by $1.144 billion in its half-year earnings report earlier this month, saying the estimated recoverable value was $704 million, including tax receivables.
Data source: moneycontrol