Customers of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) told Fastmarkets that copper deliveries for May have arrived on time and June deliveries are not expected to be affected by the Zambian government's recent liquidation order of the 310,000 tonne per year facility.
The Zambian government filed an official document to the High Court to liquidate the assets of KCM, which is majority-owned by Vedanta Resources, on May 21. KCM runs the country's largest copper smelter, Nchanga, as well as the Konkola and Nchanga mines. A court hearing between Vedanta and the Zambian government will be held on June 4. No force majeure has been declared since the takeover attempt which is a first for the government of Zambia, Africa's second-largest copper-producing region. June deliveries of copper are expected to continue as normal and some May contractual deliveries have arrived, KCM customers told Fastmarkets. Some customer sources have...