Diversified miner Vedanta Resources on Thursday denied allegations of the company’s involvement in “certain problems” being experienced at its Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) operations, in Zambia.
This comes amid court proceedings launched by the State to have KCM wound up.
Vedanta claimed Zambian government officials had alleged that it had contributed to the recent “problems” experienced at KCM.
Vedanta pointed out that it did not have access to any KCM operational site office, nor had it been able to contact KCM staff for three weeks since the appointment of a provincial liquidator for KCM.
A Lusaka court provisionally set a hearing date for June 20 to consider an application by Vedanta to be represented by its own lawyers in the wind-up proceedings. Vedanta maintained earlier this week that Zambian State-owned mining company ZCCM had chosen a route that sought to exclude Vedanta, by having a provisional liquidator appointed ex-parte.
Zambia’s decision to name a provisional liquidator to run KCM, one of the county’s biggest employers, had unnerved international miners concerned about rising resource nationalism in the country.
The Zambian government said KCM had breached the terms of its licence.
Vedanta reiterated that it would not involve itself in the sabotage of any mining or processing operation.