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Copper producer faces liquidation ¨C Mr Kebonang-18th China(Guangzhou)Int¡¯l Non-Ferrous Metal£¨Copper£©Exhibition
10/13/2016 Copper exhibition -non-ferrous metals expo |
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According to Mr Sadique Kebonang mineral resources minister of Botswana, Botswana¡¯s government will put its biggest copper and nickel producer, BCL Mine Limited, under provisional liquidation due to non profitability. Mr Kebonang said the government could not afford the cost of about 7.6 billion pula (USD 710 million) needed to keep the state owned firm running.
Mr Kebonang said that "A decline in the quality of copper over the years, which was made worse by the recent slump in commodity prices, has made the burden of keeping the mine operational unbearable," he said.
He added that "Pumping such kind of money into the mine would mean we suspend other government commitments such as providing antiretroviral drugs and educational funding.¡±
The government has applied to the high court to place the mine under provisional liquidation and will continue to pay the salaries of 5,000 workers, none of whom have lost their jobs yet. Mr Kebonang said that "The liquidator is the one who will make a decision to either shut it down or restructure the operations such as closing down some shafts that are now too expensive to mine, and retrench part of the staff.¡±
Copper mines in the world¡¯s biggest diamond producer, Botswana, have been struggling in the past two years with two others, African Copper¡¯s Mowana Mine and Discovery Metals, liquidated in 2015. BCL incurred a 1.2bn pula loss in operating costs in 2015 due to a slump in commodity prices.
-18th China(Guangzhou)Int¡¯l
Non-Ferrous
Metal£¨Copper£©Exhibition
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