BLACK MOUNTAIN 'WAR' ENDS

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 09:56:12 +0000

By Charles Musonda

THE protracted legal battle over Black Mountain ownership, between Copperbelt Mineral Processing Company Limited (CMPC) notoriously known as Jerabos, and Nkana Alloy Smelting Company Limited is slowly coming to an end.

This follows the two parties’ agreement to settle the matter out of court and enter into mutual business contracts that will result in a win-win situation.

The current majority owner is a Chinese company called Tianjin Maolin Technology Company Limited that legally acquired the slug dump from Chambeshi Metals Plc, which bought it from Nkana Alloy Smelting Company Limited, a subsidiary of ZCCM-IH.

But the Jerabos had refused to leave the site on grounds that it was their only source of employment and later formed CMPC as a special purpose vehicle for regulating their mining activities on the slug dump (the Black Mountain) and the matter was still pending before the Kitwe High Court.

According to latest correspondence seen by the Daily Nation, Nkana Alloy Smelting Company has offered the Jerabos contracts to put a wire and electrical fence around the entire Black Mountain.

“We would like you to send your quotation for the works. This will require you to contact the undersigned to arrange with Zambia Police to give you access for purposes of assessing the work to be undertaken. The other contract to put back the slug which has fallen outside the designated boundary will require you to put the material inside the Black Mountain area.

“Management would like you to provide more information over this proposal of finding the factory land… Therefore, contract for transportation will be considered thereafter.

Management would like to employ some youths from the community as general workers during construction of the factory,” read the letter by Nkana Alloy Smelting company secretary Robson Malipenga to his CMPC counterpart Germano Kaulung’ombe.

Among other issues addressed, Mr. Malipenga also thanked the Jerabos for their positive steps to work with his company.

In the earlier correspondence to Mr. Malipenga, Mr. Kaulong’ombe proposed to settle the matter out of court and asked for the Jerabos to be given eight contracts, including assisting Nkana Alloy Smelting to acquire land for its proposed processing factory; and transporting the entire slug from the Black Mountain in Wusakile Township to Kalulushi.

Among other proposed contracts, is clearing the said 600 acres of land at a fee and Mr. Kaulung’ombe has since applied to the Kalulushi Municipal Council for acquisition of land following settlement of the dispute over Black Mountain ownership.