Abu Dhabi’s IRH to invest $1.1bln in Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines

Abu Dhabi’s IRH to invest $1.1bln in Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines

The United Arab Emirates' International Resources Holdings (IRH) will invest $1.1 billion in Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines in return for 51% ownership of the business, the state-owned ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) said on Friday.

Last month, Zambia picked IRH, a unit of Abu Dhabi's most valuable listed company, International Holdings Company (IHC), as the strategic equity partner in Mopani, which was coveted by several investors looking for copper assets.

Zambia had been seeking a new investor for Mopani since it took control of the assets from Glencore in 2021 after agreeing to pay the Swiss commodities company $1.5 billion in a deal funded by debt.

IRH's $1.1 billion investment would be used to fund Mopani's production expansion plan, provide working capital and pay off part of the $1.5 billion debt owed to previous owner Glencore , ZCCM-IH said in a statement.

"$620 million will be provided in the form of new equity capital in return for a 51% stake in MCM. Approximately $400 million will be provided as a shareholder loan ... that will be used as part of the consideration to settle the original Glencore transaction debt of $1.5 billion plus interest," ZCCM-IH said.

An additional $80 million shareholder loan could also be advanced,