Zambia agrees to hand disputed copper assets back to India's Vedanta

The government, which owns a 20% stake in KCM, will allow Vedanta to resume control and operate KCM's mines and smelter after the company renewed a pledge to invest more than $1.2 billion to increase output and repay outstanding debts.

Zambia has agreed to return control of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to Vedanta Resources, mines minister Paul Kabuswe said on Tuesday, ending a row over the ownership of the assets that erupted in 2019 when authorities seized the mines.

The government, which owns a 20 per cent stake in KCM, will allow Vedanta to resume control and operate KCM's mines and smelter after the company renewed a pledge to invest more than $1.2 billion to increase output and repay outstanding debts, Kabuswe said.

Ties between Zambia and Vedanta, owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal, soured after former President Edgar Lungu's government orchestrated the seizure of the KCM assets and forced liquidation in May 2019, accusing the Indian company of failing to meet plans to invest in increasing mining output.