UPDATE 2-Zambian court rejects Vedanta bid to join liquidation case – by Chris Mfula (Reuters U.S. – June 20, 2019)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LUSAKA, June 20 (Reuters) – Vedanta Resources said it would take urgent steps to protect its Zambian assets and pursue international arbitration if necessary after a Lusaka court on Thursday rejected its request to be included in liquidation proceedings.

A Lusaka judge on Thursday ruled Vedanta Resources could not take part in proceedings to wind up its Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) business in Zambia, but granted Vedanta leave to appeal the ruling. The company said it would consider whether to do so.

The case has intensified concerns among international miners about resource nationalism in Africa. Zambian firm ZCCM-IH holds around 20 percent of KCM, while Vedanta Resources, part-owner of the Mumbai-listed Vedanta group of companies, holds a majority stake.

So far, court proceedings that have appointed a provisional liquidator have not involved Vedanta, which the Zambian government has accused of breaching the terms of its licence.

“It cannot be right for ZCCM, the minority shareholder to pursue this process without the majority shareholder being heard,” Vedanta said in a statement.

For the rest of this article: https://uk.reuters.com/article/zambia-mining-vedanta/update-1-zambian-court-rejects-vedanta-bid-to-join-liquidation-case-idUKL8N23R3KK