It is reported that some shareholders in Albidon Mine Limited, owners of Munali Nickel Mine, have disputed reports about the company’s operations in Zambia and are demanding fresh and independent audits over the output of the unit in recent time.
According to reports, the minority shareholders, who are presently seeking redress over the slump in the operations of Munali nickel mine, the country’s sole producer of the metal have maintained that they would want fresh and independent audit of the output of Munali Nickel Mine in Mazabuka, 60 kilometers South of Lusaka.
The demands have been heightened following management’s proposal to unilaterally revise r the mine's nickel production figures for the past four quarters. Recently, the mine had forecast to produce 56,000 tonnes of nickel concentrates at the mine, but because of various tremors that hit the mine since June 2011, management decided to scale down production by 21%.
There was no immediate comment from senior management officials at the mine in Zambia neither was there an independent confirmation from mines permanent secretary in Zambia, Goodwin Beene on the matter.
However, reports indicate that the minority shareholders are concerned with management’s decision to revise the production figures and that the investigation and subsequent revision of production figures downwards by the Australia-based miner on Zambia's nickel mine had several irregularities that needed clarifications.
It is stated that Albidon Limited had recently revised downwards, the production figures after an independent report by Riverstone Advisory Limited had indicated that earlier figures were incorrect.
The minority shareholders' pressure group, known as Albidon Action in its quest to determine the cause of the anomalies sought the indulgence of independent and global renowned auditors, Ernst & Young to carry out a fresh audit and assess the ongoing operational review.
In a statement, the shareholders are not convinced that the matter being portrayed at the mine was correct and are disputing the independent review report. They said that "It seems clear that the independent review is a total sham. There are no independent controls in place to oversee sales of ore despite such controls being advised by experts."
However, Albidon Limited spokesperson is reported to have defended the ongoing review and dismissed the shareholders' concerns. The minority shareholders have since rejected the report describing it a sham, a contention brushed aside by the company official.
The spokesperson said that "The challenges facing the company are complex and it is important that the recommended solutions effectively address those challenges and that they get it right."
The revised report stated that, Munali Nickel Mine had produced 2,883 tonnes of nickel in the four quarters under review as opposed to 3,304 initially reported by the company. Company Secretary Mr Noel McAuliffe said the discrepancies were discovered during the ongoing review.
Munali has been dogged by a spate of work stoppages since May this year. In June operations in Mazabuka were suspended after a fault in the ventilation system caused by a manhole discovered underground.
The mine halted operations in 2008 at the height of the global economic turmoil but restarted output last year after China's state-owned Jinchuan Group International Resources acquired a 51.3 per cent stake in Albidon nickel mine.
The mine had projected to increase output of concentrates to 900,000 tonnes per annum and later increase to 1.2 million tonnes by 2012 with consistence in production at the sole nickel producer.
(Filed by Mr Kapembwa Sinkamba SteelGuru Correspondent Zambia)
