Vedanta welcomes South African court decision to block Zambia's plan to sell firm's copper mines

With South African court blocking Zambia's plans to sell mines of Vedanta, the metals and mining company has welcomed the move stating that it is committed to resolving the current situation through arbitration.

"Vedanta welcomes the decision by judge (Leicester) Adams, and emphasises its commitment to resolve the current situation through arbitration," Vedanta Resources has said in a statement.

"Vedanta is unable to comment on the process currently underway in the Zambian courts. This is in compliance with the guidance provided by Justice Banda-Bobo in the Lusaka High Court on 4 July 2019, after concerns were raised about the parties making public comments about ongoing court proceedings," the statement said.

 

South Africa's high court this week ordered Zambia to halt the sale of Vedanta Resources' Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) until a final decision is made through arbitration.

Following an agreement, Vedanta had approached South African court that selected Johannesburg as the seat of arbitration in case of a dispute, according to a source.

"The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has granted Vedanta Resources an urgent interim interdict against minority KCM shareholder ZCCM and the KCM Provisional Liquidator," the statement said.

The interim interdict was granted after two days of argument before judge Adams in the South Gauteng High Court last week, where Vedanta contended that ZCCM has breached the KCM shareholders' agreement by pursuing winding-up proceedings against KCM in Zambia, instead of using the agreed-upon dispute resolution mechanisms in the KCM shareholders agreement, it said.

The granting of the interim interdict means that ZCCM is obliged to suspend its legal actions in Zambia where it is attempting to force through a final liquidation of KCM, in breach of the KCM shareholders agreement which requires that any shareholder disputes must be resolved through formal arbitration in South Africa, it added.