Chambishi Metals plc

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Zambian Copperbelt
35 km northwest of Kitwe

1998 - Anglovaal Mining Limited (Avmin) acquires 90% stake. Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) Investments owns remainder
2003 - J&W Holding AG of Switzerland, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to acquire a 90% interest in Chambishi Metals PLC, a cobalt, copper and metal mining company, from Anglovaal Mining Ltd, for 268.154 bil Zambian kwachas (77.339 mil Swiss francs/$55.776 mil US)

Joint venture between International Mineral Resources and Bein Stein Group Resources

China Non-Ferrous Metal Industry Foreign Engineering and Construction Company Limited (85%)

   www.cnmc.com.cn

2009 - 10% - ZCCM-IH www.zccm-ih.com.zm
        - Enya Holdings BV has the majority shareholding in Chambishi Metals plc

Chambishi Metals plc is an African mining, refining and tolling company, with substantial cobalt and copper reserves. As part of the Zambian government’s privatisation initiative, Anglovaal Mining Limited acquired the Chambishi cobalt and acid plants and the Nkana slag dumps from Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) Limited during the latter part of 1998.

The Chambishi production facilities, located near Kitwe in the Copperbelt province in Zambia, have been in production since 1978 and includes copper and cobalt production plants. The operation has a cobalt resource at Kitwe in the form of the Nkana slag dump. In addition, Chambishi production facilities processes copper and cobalt from concentrates received from the Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM) facility. The cobalt produced is high-grade industry standard and is used in the super alloy industry.

Ore recovered from the Nkana slag dump and concentrates received from LCM are treated in two separate processes:

- Slag is excavated from the Nkana slag dump by front-end loader and occasionally by drilling and blasting. The material is concentrated through crushing and passing over a magnetic drum. The concentrated slag is then transported 35 kilometres by road to Chambishi Metals, where it is mixed with various reagents such as anthracite, coal and malachite. It is then fed into the COSAC (Cobalt from Slag and Copper as a by-product) furnace, 40 MW DC single solid graphite electrode electric furnace. The resultant cobalt-copper alloy is tapped and routed through the atomiser and pressure leach, where it is made suitable for electrowinning.

- Concentrate received from LCM is roasted to burn off a portion of the sulphur as sulphur dioxide and to change the chemical composition of the concentrate to make it suitable for electrowinning.

Products from the furnace and the roaster are pumped to the electrowinning plant and after processing, copper and cobalt are independently plated and made available for sale as copper sheets and cobalt flakes. Processed copper and cobalt is transported to various commercial destinations in Zambia and to Johannesburg in South Africa, where it is shipped to customers.

February 18, 2010 - Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC (ENRC.LN), said Thursday that it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Enya Holdings BV which holds a 90% interest in Chambishi Metals PLC, a Zambian copper and cobalt producer, together with an interest in Comit Resources FZE, a Dubai- based marketing and sales company.

June 22, 2009 - Enya Holdings BV will operate Zambia's largest cobalt producer Chambishi Metals Plc which was shutdown in December last year, mines minister Maxwell Mwale said on Monday.  Chambishi Metals Plc was part of the Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM), which also operated the Baluba copper mine.  Before shutting down, Chambishi had planned to spend $354-million to develop the Mulyashi copper project, forecast to produce 60 000 t of copper cathode by 2010.  Chambishi had planned to raise cobalt output to 5 000 tonnes in 2008 from around 3 000 t in 2007 before halting operations due to the fallout of the global economic crisis.  "It is the Enya Holdings Group that will operate Chambishi Metals. They will be importing the raw materials (copper concentrate) from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to produce cobalt," Mwale told Reuters in response to a question about which investor would be handed Chambishi Metals Plc.  Chambishi Metals was processing cobalt from raw materials at its Nkana Slag damps and raw materials from Baluba mine.  Enya Holdings, had interests in both the Bein Stein Group Resources (BSRG) and International Minerals Resources (IRM), the joint owners of LCM before it stopped production.  Mwale said the government and Enya Holdings would conclude a deal for operating Chambishi Metals soon.  China's Nonferrous Metals Corporation was a fortnight ago awarded the right to run the Luanshya copper mines and pledged to invest $400-million to revamp its operations.

February 18, 2009 - Zambia's Chambishi Metals PLC (CHIBM.ZM) could reopen its copper and cobalt smelter following the lifting of a copper concentrates export ban by Congo's Katanga province, the Daily Mail of Zambia reports Wednesday.  The state-owned paper quoted Chambishi Chief Executive Officer Derek Webbstock as saying the smelter is likely to reopen and create more than 1,000 jobs.  Management closed the smelter in December last year citing low global metal prices.  Before its closure, Chambishi smelter had been treating concentrates from the Baluba and Nkana mines in Zambia. According to Webbstock, the company is currently in talks with companies that supply copper concentrate in Zambia and Congo.  An official at Zambia's Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development told Dow Jones Newswires that given current global market conditions, treating imported concentrates would be a cheaper and more efficient option for the closed smelter.   The smelter has the capacity to treat up to 40,000 metric tons of copper a year and 4,000 tons of cobalt. Before its closure it was Zambia's leading cobalt producer.

June 13, 2003 - South African miner Anglovaal Mining (Avmin) concluded an agreement yesterday on the sale of its 90% stake in the Zambian copper-cobalt plant Chambishi Metals to Swiss-based J&W Holding AG and its subsidiary ENYA Holdings BV.   The company says it will now be seeking new project and acquisition opportunities, particularly in South Africa.  It is reported that J&W will pay Avmin $6,5-million for the operations and assume responsibility for $25-million of contingent liabilities related to infrastructure at Chambishi.  In addition, under the terms of the deal, J&W will pay further sums of up to $25-million to Avmin, depending on cobalt prices and production at the metal manufacturer over the next five years.  The sale will result in Avmin taking a write-off of $90-million.  Avmin chairperson Rick Menell said the decision had been taken following an assessment of the impact of the various technical problems that have been experienced at Chambishi, an evaluation of the return on investment and cash flows from the operation and a consideration of the near-term requirement for additional capital investment at the facility.  The decision, he said, was also impacted by the Zambian government’s decision to sell the Baluba and Luanshya copper operations to J&W.  “By disposing of its Chambishi assets, Avmin will be in a position to concentrate on new projects and growth opportunities, and optimise its existing operations,” Menell said.  Over the past few months Avmin has sought to strengthen its financial position through the process of repaying its debt and improve its risk profile as a result of the Chambishi sale.  The Avmin board anticipates that the company will be debt free by August 2003.  “The elimination of debt and the sale of Chambishi substantially reduces the company’s risk exposure, which opens the way for renewed growth in South Africa.  “Avmin can now pursue new projects aggressively and seek strategic acquisitions,” concluded Menell.