Zambia agreed to give First Quantum Minerals Ltd. more time to complete its analysis of what the company might owe the southern African nation after it was slapped with a $7.9 billion tax bill, according to the finance minister.
The Vancouver-based company is challenging the assessment from Zambia’s revenue agency, which claims First Quantum incorrectly declared imports for one of its two mines in Africa’s second-biggest copper producer. The government has audited major mining companies operating in the country, which include Vedanta Resources Plc and Glencore Plc.
“They are doing their own analysis and they have asked for a bit more time,” Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe, 56, said in an interview in her office in Lusaka, the capital, on Thursday. “We have given them a month so that they can complete the analysis.”
Copper accounts for more than 70 percent of exports in a nation that’s battling to contain ballooning external debt after spending on projects to boost infrastructure.
Higher copper prices have helped support the economy after a slump from 2014 curbed income, added to debt and prompted the government to ask for assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
For the rest of this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-05/first-quantum-given-time-to-solve-7-9-billion-zambian-tax-row