Glencore AG appoints Mr Mutati as new board chairman of MCM

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Glencore AG appoints Mr Mutati as new board chairman of MCM
Friday, 29 Jul 2011
Glencore AG International, the Swiss based and leading commodity trader and co owners of Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia, appointed former CEO Mr Emmanuel Mutati as board chairman with immediate effect to stimulate the company’s copper production and remain competitive.

During a meeting on July 26th 2011, the company’s board of directors appointed Mutati as its chairperson to oversee the affairs of the board of the Mopani Copper Mines Plc, Zambia’s second largest copper producer and one of the country’s oldest mining companies.

According to a statement from the company’s spokesperson, the company decided to appoint Mr Danny Callow as CEO of Mopani Copper Mines Plc to replace Mr Mutati as its CEO. Mr Mutati with 36 years of mining experience, is a Mining Engineer and Fellow of the Engineering Institution of Zambia with several years of experience in the mining industry. He has over the time, held various senior management positions in ZCCM.

According to data, Mr Mutati joined Mopani in 2000 as GM of Nkana Mine and has since held the portfolios of Chief Services Officer, Chief Mining Officer and Chief Executive Officer and brings with him a wealth of experience to the Chairmanship of the Board.

Mr Callow, his successor is a Mining Engineer who joined Mopani from Mutanda Mining, a Glencore subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo where he has been General Manager since July, 2007. Previous to this, Callow served in various senior management positions in the South African mining industry and as Operations Manager of Barloworld Equipment in Zambia and it is envisioned that with his experience in mining, Mr Callow will bring a new lease of life in the company which Mopani hopes to benefit.

Mopani Copper Mine operates the 78 year old Mufulira mine in addition to various units at Nkana mine. According to data, Mopani Copper Mines is jointly owned between Glencore AG International and First Quantum Minerals with 73.1 equity while ZCCM IH holds the rest of the equity. Mopani Copper Mine is an integrated copper and cobalt producer located in the Copperbelt of Zambia. Mopani's operations consist of four underground mines, a concentrator and a cobalt plant in the town of Kitwe and an underground mine, concentrator, smelter and refinery in the town of Mufulira.

The capacity of the Mufulira Copper Smelter is being expanded in a phased approach to 870,000 tonnes of concentrate by the end of 2010. The current capacity with the new Isa smelt furnace is 650,000 tonnes of concentrate. Also, the company has four SXEW plants, two at Mufulira and two at Nkana. The feed is sourced from both in situ leaching, vat leaching and heap leaching. The copper cathode production from the SXEW plants is currently 75,000 tonnes which is being expanded to 100,000 tons by the end of 2008. It is Zambia's second largest copper and cobalt miner, Mopani Copper Mines with various plans to expand operations including upgrading its ageing Mufulira copper smelter after importation of machinery required for the project.

A USD 26 million converter, meant for upgrades to enable the smelter to reduce sulfur emissions, recently arrived in Zambia and its installation is expected to commence soon. The new converter is part of its goal to reduce sulfur emissions by 97% in the next 4 years. The installation is expected to be completed in December 2011. Mopani is also set to install an acid plant at the smelter. The arrival of the converter will allow us to proceed with major infrastructure developments which will reduce sulfur emissions at the Mufulira smelter.

Mufulira treats concentrates from Mopani Copper Mines units as well as from First Quantum Minerals Limited's Kansanshi Copper Mines in Zambia's North Western province. First Quantum owns a minority stake in Mopani. Earlier this year Mopani stated that it would invest at least USD 295 million in a new mine shaft at its Nkana division which will extend the lifespan of the mine by 25 years. Currently, Mopani has the capacity to produce 200,000 tons of copper a year. Zambia, Africa's largest copper miner by output, is facing a looming shortage of copper treatment facilities as production increases.

Mopani Copper Mines, a subsidiary of Glencore, earlier spent about USD 50 million to partially fund the first phase of the renovation and modernization of the Mufulira copper smelter, with the aim of reducing the emissions of sulphur dioxide. A further and final reduction of SO2 and dust emissions was planned for latest 2015, when Mopani Copper Mines would have completed the construction of the second acid plant without co financing by the lender with a view that the efforts would render the smelter compliant with local and World Bank emission regulations.

The Mufulira smelter was first built in 1937. Prior to privatization in 2000, 100% of all SO2 went into the atmosphere. So far the situation has improved since including notably through the investment financed by EIB's loan to Mopani copper mine for modernization of the copper smelter. The lender said that the project has successfully established the capacity to eliminate 250,000 tonnes of SO2 a year, materially contributing to the protection of the environment.


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