Blast at Zam copper mine

LUSAKA – A bomb explosion hit a mine shaft at Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), the country’s largest copper producer, after workers ended a strike yesterday and copper output resumed.

The blast was reported at KCM’s Konkola mine, but there were no deaths and production was not disrupted, a senior company official said. Andrew Mwanza, president of the Mineworkers Union of Zambia, said earlier: “The strike has ended…The workers have gone back and normal copper production has resumed at all the mines.”A strike at KCM’s Nkana smelter began on July 12 and the work stoppage later paralysed all KCM operations when it spread to the Konkola and Nchanga mines.The company and unions said on Sunday that a wage deal had been reached, but media reports later said that workers resumed the strike the following day.On Wednesday, police said workers at the Nchanga open pit mine rioted, smashing shop windows and stoning cars in a protest over the salary deal.Workers were demanding a 100 percent wage rise.KCM is majority owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources, whose chairman said before the strike that KCM would seek to boost copper production this year to 250 000 tonnes.Zambia earns the bulk of its foreign exchange from copper mining and the vast mines are a major employer in this southern African country of 10 million people.- Nampa-ReutersAndrew Mwanza, president of the Mineworkers Union of Zambia, said earlier: “The strike has ended…The workers have gone back and normal copper production has resumed at all the mines.”A strike at KCM’s Nkana smelter began on July 12 and the work stoppage later paralysed all KCM operations when it spread to the Konkola and Nchanga mines.The company and unions said on Sunday that a wage deal had been reached, but media reports later said that workers resumed the strike the following day.On Wednesday, police said workers at the Nchanga open pit mine rioted, smashing shop windows and stoning cars in a protest over the salary deal.Workers were demanding a 100 percent wage rise.KCM is majority owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources, whose chairman said before the strike that KCM would seek to boost copper production this year to 250 000 tonnes.Zambia earns the bulk of its foreign exchange from copper mining and the vast mines are a major employer in this southern African country of 10 million people.- Nampa-Reuters