Zambia will tighten tax and negotiate increase in mines ...

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Zambia will tighten tax and negotiate increase in mines shareholding

Nov 04, 2011 | 12:31 PM |


Zambia's government is preparing to open negotiations with mining companies to raise the state’s level of shareholding in mining projects.

But it has assured mining investors it will not pursue a mines nationalisation policy.

“Our approach is going to be two-fold,” the new mines minister Wilbur Simusa told MB.

“We’ve been told by experts that Zambia is not deriving adequate benefits from its mineral proceeds; our primary objective is to [utilize] all means [available] to ensure increased benefits from mining,” he said.

“We’re also going to encourage local participation in the mining sector and we want to improve our relations with the big mining companies,” he added.

London- and Lusaka-listed ZCCM Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) manages the government’s shareholding in several mining projects.

ZCCM-IH owns a 10% stake in Chambishi Metals; a 15% stake in CNF Africa, which is largely owned by China Nonferrous Metals Corp (CNMC); a 10% stake in Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), which is majority owned by Glencore International; and a 20.6% shareholding in Kansanshi mine, which is largely owned by First Quantum Minerals.

Through ZCCM-IH, the Zambian government also owns a 20.6% stake in Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), which is controlled by Vedanta Resources; and a 15% stake in Chibuluma copper mine, an operation in which JSE-listed Metorex Ltd is a major shareholder.

The government’s share in mining projects is too low and it will seek to increase its stakes, Simusa said.

“In terms of ownership, government shareholding is very low,” he said. “We will find ways of improving our shareholding and [boosting] the mining sector’s level of contribution without necessarily affecting the partnership and [level of] co-operation that currently exists.”

The government also aims to overhaul the tax system, which it says is prone to abuse by mining companies that allegedly inflate their operational costs to lower tax payments.

Other tax loopholes have been exploited, the Zambian government added.

The current taxation system is fragmented, making it difficult for the government to trace due revenue from companies, Simusa told MB.

“Tax collection mechanisms are inadequate,” he said. "Mining houses are getting away with not paying the due tax."

“For example, the variable profit tax makes it difficult for government to control profit declarations by companies; some declare losses when they have not made a loss,” he said.

“Several inflate operational costs and we are taking measures to close these gaps,” he added.

Concern has also been raised that the government does not have the proper data-capture systems relating to copper production and exports.

For example, the Zambian government has said that information is not available on Swiss customs data for copper exports bound for Switzerland.

“Accountability from the mining sector is very poor and accounting for the minerals is very poor,” Simusa said.

New metal export procedures will be made public next week, he said, adding that an overhaul of the current mining taxation system will increase the mining sector’s transparency.

In the future, all exports will be cleared by the central bank, Simusa said.

Zambia is Africa’s top copper producer and aims to lift production to 1.6 million tonnes by 2016. It produced 819 000 tonnes of the metal in 2010.

Copper accounts for nearly 75% of Zambia’s export earnings, although it only contributes 9% to gross domestic product (GDP), according to Simusa.

The government may force miners to keep mining earnings in Zambia, Simusa hinted.