Sam 27 Sep 2014 07:52
Zambia's Copperbelt Energy restores power to Konkola mines
LUSAKA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Zambian electricity supplier Copperbelt Energy Corp has restored power supply to Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), it said on Friday, ending a week-long supply restriction stemming from a dispute over an unpaid bill.
"It is our hope that in response to this show of good faith, KCM will pay all its outstanding bills and begin to pay all their future bills as they fall due," Copperbelt Energy said in a statement.
KCM is owned by Britain's Vedanta Resources.
Zambia's energy minister on Thursday told the two firms to end the stand-off, which KCM said was impairing its production and profitability and could have had implications for job security if prolonged.
KCM suspended underground work at its Nchanga mine due to flooding caused by a lack of pumping, and said it had lost 482 tonnes of copper worth $3.3 million. (Reporting by Chris Mfula, editing by William Hardy)