4 October 2008
WE commend Equinox Minerals Limited for arranging the US$80 million loan facility for the completion of the Lumwana project in Solwezi.
The signing of the loan facility gives hope that the Lumwana project, initially expected to be completed earlier, will start production according to the revised programme.
As Equinox president and chief executive officer, Craig Williams says, the loan will enable the company meet additional working capital requirements that resulted from the delayed commencement, following a fire that swept through the plant slightly over two months ago.
There are many encouraging things about the signing of the loan facility by Equinox. One is that, Zambia will soon realise the dream to host Africa's largest copper mine.
What this means is more jobs for the people of Zambia, more tax for the treasury and more development attracted by the mining activities in Solwezi and the whole of the North-Western Province.
But even more importantly, the loan facility proves that investors have strong confidence not only in the Lumwana copper project but the whole of the Zambian economy.
Zambia continues to command respect and confidence among investors, both local and foreign as evidenced by the phenomenal growth of most sectors of the economy apart from mining.
It is cardinal that Zambians continue guarding jealously, the peace that the country has enjoyed which is one of the main reasons that investors are attracted to come and invest.
This is more so important during this period of campaigns when politicians may be tempted to issue inflammatory statements which may scare away investors.
Investors want to put money in an environment that assures them of greater returns in the future and Zambia is one such environment.
But we should not take this tranquil environment for granted as it calls for unity of purpose among all, regardless of different political affiliations.
It is said multi partyism is unity in diversity. We can co-exist in unity despite our diverse political leanings.
It is only when we assure of this unity that the country will continue to command such huge investments as the ones we are seeing in Lumwana.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Times of Zambia. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
