Abu Dhabi’s IRH turns down Zambian copper concentrate waiver

The Zambian unit of Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Holding doesn’t plan to export copper concentrate, after again being granted the largest quota in a government waiver to ship the semi-processed form of the metal.

Mopani Copper Mines said it hasn’t changed its position since July when the first exemptions were announced. At that time, the company said it had “no plan to export any part” of the allocation and intended to feed that output into its own “processing operations in line with our long-term strategy of strengthening domestic refining capacity.”

Zambia’s government on June 2 suspended a 10% export duty on almost 272,000 tons of copper concentrate that can be shipped via the state-owned Industrial Resources Ltd. during the next three months. IRL has a metals-trading partnership with Mercuria Energy Group.

Mopani’s share is 100,000 tons, while the three biggest mines in Zambia — owned by Barrick Mining Corp. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. — are entitled to export a similar volume combined. Mopani was also awarded allocations of the same size 11 months ago and in March.

IRH, which is part of a vast conglomerate controlled by United Arab Emirates National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Ali Nahyan, acquired 51% of the Zambian copper mining complex, in early 2024.

The export duty is normally in place to encourage miners to process all their concentrate at Zambia’s four operational copper smelters, one of which belongs to Mopani. The exemptions are introduced when that smelting capacity is constrained.

Konkola Copper Mines said on May 29 that its smelter had begun a planned 60-day shutdown to undertake maintenance and repairs.

Mopani’s “priority is to smelt all available concentrate,” the company’s public relations department previously said.

(By William Clowes)