KONKOLA NORTH COPPER

Theminingweb.com reports that, in an ironic twist to Anglo American's bid to resuscitate the Zambian copper industry, the London-listed diversified miner has effectively forced the country's government to renationalise the prime copper belt assets. Anglo American has reportedly signed a deal with the Zambian government and its partners in the KCM joint venture, which will see it exit Zambia after only two years following a disastrous re-entry into the mining district it controlled, before an ill-conceived nationalisation policy pursued by the Zambian government in the 1970s.

Australia's Paydirt reports that First Quantum Minerals may step in to buy or manage Zambian copper mines that Anglo American plc has threatened to close within a year. The mines, Konkola, Nampundwe and the historic Nchanga, produce half of Zambia's copper and cobalt, accounting for 88% of the country's exports. Anglo American last month cancelled a USD1 billion investment in a new mine and announced plans to shut existing operations because of falling copper prices, a move which generated plenty of discussion at the recently held Indaba 2002 conference in Cape Town, South Africa. "We'll help to the extent we can," said Australian-domiciled Philip Pascall, chairman and chief executive of First Quantum. "If it's a question of hundreds of millions of dollars then we're not there.” However, if it was more modest, the company could invest in the assets.

The World Bank was ready to find cash so Zambia could save mines owned by Anglo American from closure if the mining giant pulled out of the country, the lender said at the weekend, according to the Business Report. At the end of an emergency mission sent by World Bank president James Wolfensohn, the bank said it would help President Levy Mwanawasa manage the crisis. Anglo American's decided last month to close or sell its investment in the Zambian copperbelt. The Zambian copperbelt accounts for a large slice of the Zambian economy and Anglo's ownership of the area is equivalent to 80 percent of the area's total copper assets. The South African London listed group said that it will close down the Konkola Copper Mines' operations in 12 to 15 months if it can't sell or transfer them to another company.