Glencore International AG's Mopani Copper Mines may have irregularities in tax submissions as per the director general of the Zambian revenue authority.
The Director General Wisdom Nekairo said if they established that there was a shortfall in what Mopani had submitted, they may have to settle the difference and if the audit exonerates them then there will be no case against them and this matter will be put to rest amicably.
Zambia had hired Grant Thornton Zambia and Econ Pöyry, a Norwegian global consulting and engineering company, in February 2009 to audit mining companies operating in the country. The preliminary report was produced in November as per Director General Wisdom Nekairo.
In an email statement made by Mopani Copper Mines they called the report incomplete and factually incorrect. They said that from the outset the analysis does not take into account that the company is partially a custom smelting facility and as a result a lot of the analysis throws up inconsistent results.
The company officials are currently in talks with the Zambian authorities over what is being seen as a mining tax evasion scam by many. Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane was informed about the incident by the revenue authority however he was not taking any calls.