Zambian minister against "ruinous" nationalisation

The contrast between the mining environment in Zambicomplete shanghai stone crushering planta and SA was stark at the first mining and energy conference in Zambia last week, where Zambian Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale said unequivocally that the nationalisation of his country’s mines was a failure that should never be repeated.

In SA, President Jacob Zuma — seemingly intent on not compromising any political support at the expense of keeping investors unsettled — last week told the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League conference that the task team established by the ANC was proceeding with its investigation into the nationalisation of mines. He was responding to a challenge from youth league leader Julius Malema, a strident supporter of nationalising SA’s mines. "We are still to see if the leadership has the potential and the political will to confront the mining capitalists," Mr Malema said at the conference last week. The results of the ANC’s study, which includes the Zambian experience, will form the basis for discussions at the party’s conference next year, where a decision will be made on whether to adopt nationalisation or find another way to secure the state’s involvement in the mining sector...