Vedanta Resources on Wednesday said it is keen to open dialogue with Zambia’s ZCCM and reiterated it commitment to invest $1.5 billion into operations, communities and local economies around Konkola Copper Mines in the African nation.
This comes after the mining group had said an arbitral tribunal in a partial final award ruled that ZCCM has breached dispute resolution provisions provided in Vedanta Resources’ Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) shareholder agreements.
“As Zambia embarks on an exciting new chapter in its history under the leadership of His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia, Vedanta is keen to open a dialogue with ZCCM as we today re-iterate our commitment to invest $1.5 billion into the operations, communities and local economies around KCM,” Sunil Duggal, Group CEO, Vedanta, said in a statement.
“Vedanta is committed to making KCM and Zambia world leaders in copper production once again and we look forward to working with the community in the copper belt and collaborating with the new government in any way necessary to ensure that a stable and beneficial future is achieved for all stakeholders at KCM,” he added.
KCM remains a very important asset to Vedanta and Zambia and the company is committed to ensuring the success of its operations for the benefit of its employees and surrounding communities, as well as contributing to delivering better lives for all Zambians, he said.
The investment of $1.5 billion in the operations at KCM “will include $200m to pay the local suppliers of the mine in addition to the significant sums of $400m to bring in best-in-class ESG practices to improve health, safety and working conditions for employees as well as the allocation of $100m for community projects,” it added.
Vedanta, the world’s sixth largest globally diversified natural resources company, has operated for over a decade in Zambia. Vedanta Resources holds 79.4 per cent stake in KCM, while the Zambian government through its state mining investment firm ZCCMIH holds the remaining 20.6 per cent.
Interim dividend cleared
Vedanta Ltd on Wednesday said its board has approved an interim dividend of Rs 18.50 per equity share for FY2021-22, amounting to Rs 6,877 crore. The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is September 9. The interim dividend will be paid within stipulated timelines as prescribed under law.
