The European Union-funded Mineral Production Monitoring Support Project (MPMSP) says there is an improvement in mineral production reporting by the mines now compared to when the project started in 2015.
This is in response to reports suggesting that the government of Zambia, through the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development (MMMD), is not on top of mineral production monitoring and that there is poor or no correlation between mineral production and taxes and royalties paid by mining companies.
MPMSP Team Leader Ron Smit says the project is proud to have contributed to improved reporting by the large copper mines, as well as deeper investigation into the reports by Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development officers to clarify production figures reported by the mines.
“We are 100% more confident that the monthly reporting by the dozen or so large copper mines (who account for more than 90% of Zambia’s copper production) is accurate to within a few percent. This is due to the fact that we have designed and implemented the more detailed Form 34 for monthly reporting, which is the obligatory legal format since 1st January, 2016.”
Mr Smit says the data required for Form 34 has been used as the basis for the design of the Mineral Output Statistical Evaluation System (MOSES) production reporting system implemented by another project operating under ZRA, and this facilitating the comparison of mines’ production reports with their royalty reporting to ZRA.
“Form 34 requires reporting on all the intermediary products produced by the mining companies, and makes it possible to verify whether overall production reports are accurate and also whether mines have particular challenges to recover copper from certain types of ore.” He says.
He further says the officers in the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development now have an improved understanding of this reporting process and have been able to follow up with mining companies when reporting is seen to be inaccurate or incomplete.
The MPMSP has also undertaken Inspection visits to the mines to verify the qualities and quantities that they have reported in their monthly production reports.
In this light, the MPMSP is now shifting focus onto the reporting of other metals by the same mines, as well as designing a reporting format for gemstone production.”
We are cheated on emeralds production tonnages. Can you move in quickly and arrest the frauld reports. A kg of emerald is good enough to see significant change in our economy.
It is really a shame that Zambians CANNOT even develop their own accurate mine production reporting system! Why depend on foreigners to develop a model for us to know the production of these foreign owned mines? if we do not have expertise, why don’t we send our kids to propers schools to learn such basic skills as production planning, management and reporting for the mining industry? It is clear to me that we DO NOT HAVE A REAL< GENUINE committed leadership with a mindset to make Zambia a better country! I am fed up with the PF baboons and their ignorance!
Guys,
In 2006, I suspected that Zambia was being cheated on the metals declared by these foreign-owned mines. I approached the:
Minister of Mines, and
The Copperbelt Minister
With a proposal for checks and balances. To no avail.
In 2007, I left Zambia and went into DR Congo where the same proposal was embraced.
I’ve since replicated the same model in:
Mauritania
Saudi Arabia
Kazakhstan, and
Ivory Coast
This smit is in collusion with these mines, how do you let a foreigner be in charge of such a project. Remember these people will always support their own no matter what. Imagine this guy goes to FQM or Barrick and tells these guys, you are giving false or cooked production figures and minerals, hence I have come to audit and monitor you? They would simply say, stupid fool, the money we make here is for your children back home what do you think you are doing? Instead lie to these goons and tell them that this project in superfluous blah blah. In short a Zambian should head such a project imwe, remember a leopard does not change its spots. Ba Yaluma, we have trained Zambian experts capable of doing this what is wrong kanshi?
EX-LUANSHYA MINER, SEND ME YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER IN CONFIDENCE PLEASE.
JC
I’m in India on assignment
please open communication on:
krs.mining (at) gmx (dot) com
It pains me to see how Zambia is being robbed of its God-given resources
THE MOST PAINFUL AND GUT WRENCHING STORY HERE IS THAT A FOREIGNER HAS TO COME AND TELL US HOW TO MONITOR MINE PRODUCTION 52 YEARS AFTER INDEPENDENCE. AND YET, WE HAD ZAMBIANS RUNNING THESE VERY MINES FOR MANY YEARS: UNTIL ZAMBIANISATION WAS DERAILED.
SHAME ON US.
So all along we have been played like foools!!
No we haven’t been played like fools, we have let ourselves be fooled because our education system isn’t producing people with the acumen to tackle problems, instead defering to political persuasion.
Knowledge isn’t confined to books. work experience is necessary. where do our graduates look for employment.
We are our own biggest problem
No we havent been played for fools , we have fooled ourselves by not tapping into the talent of our graduates who arent pursuing careers within zambia. We want entrepreneurs, we keep stressing the importance of entrepreneurs but we are not encouraging our graduates to gravitate to employment in the mines.
How mzny of our universities are recognised internationally. There is a reason, we must look more at what we aren’t doing rather than what others are doing. We are a nation of talkers.. indabas here, meetings there, committees fact finding missions but what the hell do we actually do.
We live per diem.
I here about copper, what about the gold that is extracted during smeltering. Never hear about that. Tthere other minerals as well. We focus on copper , we are fixated on copper.
Good to see such passionate responses about Zambia’s resources, and the need for Zambians to govern their extraction. I’m not getting into a debate here, but for the record:
– It’s true that I am myself not a Zambian, but I believe strongly that it is the responsibility of Zambians and the Zambian government to govern the sector;
– This Project is funded by the European Union, but we operate from within and under the leadership of the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development;
– The project team is dominated by Zambians, male and female, of great skill and experience, in addition to some foreign experts – the intention is to learn from experiences (and mistakes) in other countries;
– Until now we have focused on copper (since that is Zambia’s largest mineral export) but we are…