ZIMEC roundup by MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA and KENNEDY MPESENI –

FIRST Quantum Minerals (FQM) has contributed US$3.143 billion to the Zambian economy in the last 10 years.
FQM director of operations Matt Pascall said the company had contributed $3.143 billion through the payment of taxes, dividends and corporate social responsibility (CSR) from 2006 to date.
The company paid $1, 965 million in corporate tax and Mr Pascall said about $537 million was paid as mineral royalties.
He said this at the just ended Fifth Zambia International Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition in Lusaka whose theme was, ‘Zambia’s mining and energy economy – next 50 years’.
Mr Pascall said the company contributed $166 million in pay as you earn (PAYE) and paid the Government $201 million in dividends through ZCCM-Investment Holdings.
“We paid US$38 million in CSR, duties and others payments amounting to $236 million,” he said.
Mr Pascall said Zambia had made significant changes to the mining tax regime creating fiscal instability.
“The existing regime represents one of the highest effective tax rates in the world. At nine per cent of the mineral royalty tax with the already challenging fiscal environment,” he said.
Mr Pascall said the proposed mineral royalty tax changes would move Zambia into uncharted fiscal territory.
FQM is an established and rapidly growing mining and metals company producing copper, nickel, gold, zinc and platinum.
The Company’s assets are located in Zambia, Spain, Mauritania, Australia, Finland, Turkey, Panama, Peru and Argentina.
In 2014, FQM produced 427,655 tonnes of copper, 45,879 tonnes of nickel, 229,813 ounces of gold 55,980 tonnes of zinc and 60,080 ounces of platinum.
Mr Pascall also said sentinel’s processing facility would have a target output rate of 55 million tonnes per annum of ore at an average grade of 0.5 per cent copper.
Higher grades are expected in the first six years of the mine life, which would provide an annual production rate ranging between 270,000 tonnes and 300,000 tonnes of copper.
The plant will be comprised of three in-pit crushers delivering to a crushed ore stockpile providing a live capacity of 80,000 tonnes.