Government Yet To Go on Australia’ Lotus And Lilly Fact-Finding Mission

Government Yet To Go on Australia’ Lotus And Lilly Fact-Finding Mission

Government is yet to find out if Lotus and Lilly, an Australian company that silently bought 85 percent of Kayerekera uranium mine in Karonga from Paladin Africa, has the capacity to manage the mining site.

In December 2019, government gave a go-ahead of the sale of the Uranium Mine after Paladin Africa announced its intention to sell 85 percent of its stakes, a move that attracted mixed reactions.

It is reported that this was done for sustainability of the mine that has halted operations for 6 years now, which Paladin blamed to low profits.

But parliament questioned the sale, claiming it was not done transparently, hence summoning Paladin and Ministry of Energy and Mining, to get more information on the sale.

A committee was later set up for a team to travel to Australia on a fact-finding mission, to establish whether Lotus and Lily can manage Kayerekera satisfactorily.

Minister of energy and natural resources Bintony Kutsaira told Zodiak that meanwhile, government is making final arrangements for the fact finding mission to Australia.

“The trip is on, yes. We will be travelling to Australia at the end of the month, but we are still doing some logistical processes,” said Kutsaira.

Chairperson of the parliamentary committee of natural resources Welani Chilenga, said the trip will not change anything as the deal between Paladin Africa and Lotus and Lilly was already sealed.

“We have not been informed about the date of the trip, so we are just waiting for them. We hope members of our committee will be involved. However, the trip will not change anything because the deal was sealed between the two companies. It’s their company, we only have 15 percent of the stakes,” Chilenga said.

Paladin Africa signed the 12 year Kayerekera uranium mining in 2009 but was blamed for not honoring its social responsibilities, among other things security and care for the environment.

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Last modified on Tuesday, 25/02/2020

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