Canadian company suspends operations after African mine death
Canadian firm First Quantum Minerals has temporarily suspended operations at one of its Trident mines in Zambia following the death of an employee in a dump truck accident.
The incident occurred at a pit at the Sentinel copper mine, located 150km west of Solwezi in the northwestern province of the southern African country, the mining company said in a statement on Monday.
The 'operations in the area of the accident have been temporarily suspended and will resume once it is determined that it can be done in a safe manner,' it stated.
The company said it had notified local authorities about the 'tragic loss' and that an internal investigation is currently underway.
First Quantum is a major player in Zambia's copper-rich northwestern province, where it operates two major mines – the Kansanshi mine and the Sentinel mine, as part of its larger Trident project. Its operations, have, however, been marred by several fatal accidents in recent years, including a 2023 dump truck collision at Sentinel and multiple contractor deaths at Kansanshi. Last September, the Toronto-based miner reported that a collision between a tracked dozer and a light vehicle had killed one of its employees. In November the previous year, two contractors at its Zambian operations died in separate incidents.
The latest incident comes at a time when countries in Africa have revoked the licenses of major Western mining firms over a series of grievances, including alleged unpaid taxes.
Last Thursday, Niger's military government announced plans to nationalize Somair uranium, a local venture operated by the French state-owned nuclear company Orano since 1971, amid an escalating dispute between the miners and the West African nation. Governments in neighboring Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali have also moved to review mining contracts in recent months, seeking to boost revenue from their extractive industries.
Earlier last Monday, Mali temporarily stripped Canadian firm Barrick of control over the country's largest gold mining operations, citing alleged unpaid taxes and royalties.
In 2023, First Quantum lost control of its flagship Panama copper mine after the country's Supreme Court nullified its contract and the maritime authority blocked export permits.
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Russia Today
6 days ago
- Russia Today
Canadian company suspends operations after African mine death
Canadian firm First Quantum Minerals has temporarily suspended operations at one of its Trident mines in Zambia following the death of an employee in a dump truck accident. The incident occurred at a pit at the Sentinel copper mine, located 150km west of Solwezi in the northwestern province of the southern African country, the mining company said in a statement on Monday. The 'operations in the area of the accident have been temporarily suspended and will resume once it is determined that it can be done in a safe manner,' it stated. The company said it had notified local authorities about the 'tragic loss' and that an internal investigation is currently underway. First Quantum is a major player in Zambia's copper-rich northwestern province, where it operates two major mines – the Kansanshi mine and the Sentinel mine, as part of its larger Trident project. Its operations, have, however, been marred by several fatal accidents in recent years, including a 2023 dump truck collision at Sentinel and multiple contractor deaths at Kansanshi. Last September, the Toronto-based miner reported that a collision between a tracked dozer and a light vehicle had killed one of its employees. In November the previous year, two contractors at its Zambian operations died in separate incidents. The latest incident comes at a time when countries in Africa have revoked the licenses of major Western mining firms over a series of grievances, including alleged unpaid taxes. Last Thursday, Niger's military government announced plans to nationalize Somair uranium, a local venture operated by the French state-owned nuclear company Orano since 1971, amid an escalating dispute between the miners and the West African nation. Governments in neighboring Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali have also moved to review mining contracts in recent months, seeking to boost revenue from their extractive industries. Earlier last Monday, Mali temporarily stripped Canadian firm Barrick of control over the country's largest gold mining operations, citing alleged unpaid taxes and royalties. In 2023, First Quantum lost control of its flagship Panama copper mine after the country's Supreme Court nullified its contract and the maritime authority blocked export permits.
Russia Today
27-05-2025
- Russia Today
Greenland eyes Chinese investment amid ‘new world order'
Greenland is weighing the possibility of inviting Chinese investment to develop its mining sector in light of tensions with the US and limited engagement with the EU, the island's business and mineral resources minister, Naaja Nathanielsen, told the Financial Times on Tuesday. An autonomous territory of Denmark, Greenland holds vast but hard-to-exploit reserves of minerals such as gold and copper. Foreign capital is essential for developing the resources, yet recent geopolitical tensions have made it difficult to secure reliable partnerships. 'We are trying to figure out what the new world order looks like,' Nathanielsen said, adding that Greenland was 'having a difficult time finding [its] footing' in evolving relationships with its Western allies. The Arctic island signed a memorandum of understanding with the US on mineral development during President Donald Trump's first term. However, according to Nathanielsen, it's coming to an end. The government in Nuuk had tried, unsuccessfully, to renew it during the administration of former US President Joe Biden. Following Trump's return to office in January, Greenland hoped to revive discussions of renewing the memorandum. Instead, the US president talked about purchasing the island and refused to rule out using military force to assert US sovereignty over it. Nathanielsen called such statements 'disrespectful and distasteful,' adding that Greenland 'has no wish to be American.' China has shown interest in the Arctic's mineral wealth, including oil, gas, and minerals. It has invested in Russian energy projects and has expressed interest in Greenland's mining sector. No Chinese companies, however, are currently operating active mines in Greenland, although one firm holds a minority stake in an inactive project. According to Nathanielsen, Chinese investors might be holding back because they don't want 'to provoke anything.' 'In those terms, Chinese investment is of course problematic, but so, to some extent, is American,' she said. Greenland would prefer closer cooperation with the EU, which aligns more closely with its environmental priorities, the minister said. However, the bloc's engagement has been slow, with only one project, led by a Danish-French consortium, currently in development. The mine is expected to begin operations within five years. At present, Greenland has two functioning mines: one for gold, operated by the Icelandic-Canadian firm Amaroq Minerals, and another for anorthosite, a light-colored industrial rock, managed by a subsidiary of Canada's Hudson Resources.
Russia Today
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Greenland awards major mining contract to Danish-French firm
Greenland has granted a 30-year mining license to a Danish-French consortium seeking to extract a moon-like rock that could serve as a climate-friendly alternative in aluminum production. The permit to extract anorthosite, awarded on Wednesday to Greenland Anorthosite Mining (GAM), comes in the wake of renewed global attention on the Arctic territory. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing the autonomous island, which remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Anorthosite is a white rock primarily composed of aluminum, micro silica, and calcium. GAM intends to export crushed anorthosite for use in the fibreglass industry, positioning it as a more sustainable substitute for kaolin, the outlet said. The company is supported by the French investment firm Jean Boulle Group, along with state investment funds from both Greenland and Denmark. Announcing the deal, Greenland's Minister for Mineral Resources, Naaja Nathanielsen, said that the project's objective is to scale up operations in order to offer a climate-friendly alternative to bauxite for producing aluminum—an essential material in the manufacturing of aircraft, vehicles, and defense equipment. 'My hope is that the mine will be operational in five years,' she told Reuters. Despite the increased geopolitical attention, the minister noted that interest from the US had yet to materialize into actual investment in Greenland. Trump has been talking about making Greenland part of the US and has offered to buy the resource-rich Arctic territory from Copenhagen, but also warned that he could go as far as using force to bring it under Washington's sovereignty. Nathanielsen remarked that 'all the fuss' surrounding proposals to purchase the island had not led to a greater appetite for direct investment. While Greenland had received visits from various investors, she pointed out that there had been 'no concrete example of American funds being injected into Greenland's business community' so far. However cooperation with EU partners, she noted, is progressing.
