Copper is used everywhere,from electrical cables and mobile phones to computers and cars. Copper mining is the lifeblood of the Zambian economy, but despite the recent boom in copper prices Zambia is the ninth poorest country in the world, with an average life expectancy of just 37 years.
Evidence gathered for this report suggests that Zambian society derives few of the advantages from its vast natural resource of copper while suffering many of the disadvantages of mining. The report focuses on Zambia’s largest copper mining company, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).
KCM is 51 per cent owned by Vedanta Resources, which has its headquarters in London. At the time of writing, it had several London and Edinburgh-based investors, including Barclays Bank, HSBC, Standard Life and Halifax/Bank of Scotland.
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