Glencore mulls loans to boost output at Zambia's Mopani copper mine – report

Global miner Glencore has proposed a $200-million loan to defray for running costs of Mopani Copper Mines, which is owned by Zambia's State-owned mining company ZCCM-IH.
Under the proposal, ZCCM-IH is also expected to contribute to the loan.
Reuters reports that Glencore, which owned Mopani until March last year is willing to lend up to $ 100 million as a short-term cash injection.
The cash is expected to help Mopani cover general costs including buying reagents and paying workers and contractors.
Glencore sold the mine to ZCCM-IH in 2021 after the government of then president Edgar Lungu opposed the company’s decision to put it under care and maintenance in 2020 due to lower copper prices.
It, however, kept the right to sell Mopani's production.
The mine can produce up to 225 000 tonnes of copper annually, which is about three times its projected output for the year.
Mopani needs an investment of at least $300 million to fund a complicated underground expansion, said unnamed company officials cited by Reuters.
Production at the mine had been on a downward spiral as new investment is being sought.
This has resulted in running costs being hard to cover.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished