| | On 25 of January 2002 Anglo American Plc announced its intention to withdraw from its mining operations on the Zambian copperbelt. In recent years, KCM (which is controlled by Anglo via its majority holding in Zambia Copper Investment Limited) has been responsible for around two-thirds of Zambia's copper production, half of its foreign exchange earnings and currently directly employs 11,000 workers. The threat of closure, therefore, represents a potential crisis not just for the Zambian copper industry, but for the Zambian economy as a whole. The aim of this article is to provide a brief overview of the background and emergence of this crisis, and to outline some of the future prospects for the industry. |
