ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS METALS EXPORTS

Reuters reports that the government has temporarily suspended metal export permits ahead of the release of new guidelines, the ministry of mines and minerals development said in a latest move to increase transparency in Africa’s top copper producer.

Newly elected President Michael Sata has been concerned — analysts say with good reason — about copper exporters misreporting the amount of ore leaving the country, and last week said that henceforth all export payments would have to be routed via the central bank.

The suspension of permits is another sign of Sata’s administration acting quickly on its populist campaign promises.

“All current permits issued by my ministry are immediately suspended pending issuance of new guidelines by the government,” Godwin Beene, the permanent secretary at the ministry said in the document, dated Oct. 4 and seen by Reuters.

The new procedures are to be in place by Oct. 16, according to the document addressed to the chief executives of miners operating in the country, which include Canada’s First Quantum Minerals , London-listed Vedanta Resources , Glencore International AG and Metorex of South Africa.

Copper accounts for three-quarters of Zambia’s export earnings, but the mining industry contributes only about 10 percent of its tax revenue.

According to Zambian figures, much of the copper exports are destined for Switzerland but little of them show up in Swiss customs data, raising questions about transparency.

Former President Rupiah Banda told Reuters in March audits had revealed that the Zambian mining sector owed up to $200 million in unpaid taxes.

[Reuters]