Sibanye-Stillwater, which mainly produces platinum group metals and gold, has shown interest in Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines, which is looking for new investors after Glencore sold it last year to ZCCM-IH, a state mining investment company.
Company chief executive Neal Froneman was quoted by Reuters as saying that they first expressed interest in Mopani a year ago.
"We like Zambia, we like what the new president is doing there," he said.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema was elected in August 2021.
He has introduced reforms in the mining sector to attract new investment and prop up production.
Mopani needs an investment of about $ 300 million to fund a complicated underground expansion.
It has the potential to produce 225 000 t/y of copper, nearly three times its expected 2022 production.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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