LUSAKA (Reuters) – Shareholders in Zambia’s ZCCM-IH have overwhelmingly supported its acquisition of a 90% stake in Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), the state-owned mining investment firm said on Wednesday.
Glencore agreed the sale of its majority stake in Mopani to ZCCM-IH in a $1.5 billion deal, the miner and trader said in January.
The extraordinary general meeting vote on the resolution was the last condition towards the completion of the transaction and ZCCM-IH now holds 100% ownership of Mopani, ZCCM-IH said in a statement.
The deal is funded by borrowings from Carlisa Investments Corp – a British Virgin Islands-based company through which Glencore holds its stake – and other members of the Glencore group.
With increased ownership, ZCCM-IH would now be an active participant in the global industry as copper becomes a critical metal, ZCCM-IH Chief Executive Mabvuto Chipata said.
“Mopani will repay the remaining debt of $1.5 billion from its own cashflows and the repayment is expected to happen well within the remaining life of mine,” Chipata said.
Glencore said in a separate statement it would continue to retain offtake rights in respect of Mopani’s production.
ZCCM-IH has said it expects to find a new investor for Mopani by the end of the year as it looks to boost copper output from a little more than 34,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes.