Glencore sells problem mine

There has been a lot of speculation in recent months about Glencore selling the Mopani copper mine in Zambia. The parties involved now seem to have agreed on a deal.

Glencore has signed a deal to sell its Mopani Copper Mines copper mine in Zambia. This was announced by the Baar raw materials and mining group on Tuesday. Glencore will hand over all of its stake in the mine to ZCCM-IH, a copper mining company largely owned by the Zambian state. The deal, worth $ 1.5 billion, is expected to be completed within the next three months. Until ZCCM-IH has transferred the entire debt amount, Glencore retains exclusive purchase rights for Mopani.

There has been repeated speculation about a sale of Mopani in recent months. The Zambian copper mine has recently become a problem for Glencore, and the Baar Group tried to temporarily close the mine due to low copper prices and the impact of the Corona crisis last year – thereby infuriating the Zambian government, which subsequently wanted to revoke Glencore's license to mine copper.

View of Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia
Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg (Kitwe, October 7, 2015)

In addition, Glencore was last year ordered to compensate the family of a victim of exhaust gases.  This was in connection with toxic emissions at the Mopani Copper Mines, and was for approximately CHF 65,000 – which would have set a precedent. Zambia's Supreme Court dismissed Glencore's appeal against a lower court decision, citing "overwhelming evidence" that Glencore's mine had "violated the sulphur dioxide limits of the authorities for years”, thereby endangering the right to life of an entire community."