PF LIES ABOUT SALE OF KABWE ZINC MINE EXPOSED
By Shalala Oliver Sepiso
This afternoon, PF pages ran with a short allegation that “$2bn valued Kabwe zinc mine acquired for $4.5m by UK firm. He did it and he has done it again , hh and amasampo.”
The allegation makes it sound like the mine sold is a government owned mine. A national asset. And that the president is somehow involved in the transaction. The truth is something else.
The reality is that Shuka Minerals Plc (formerly known as Edenville Energy), a London-based company listed on the London Stock Exchange, has completed the 100% acquisition of Leopard Exploration and Mining Limited (LEM), which owns the historic Kabwe Zinc Mine.
The acquisition was confirmed to be complete as of 16th January, 2026, following a protracted process and approval from Zambia’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
The Kabwe mine is described as a high-grade, “world-class” deposit, with estimated remaining resources of 5.7 million tonnes and an estimated NPV10 of US$561 million. This is nowhere close to the USD 2bn the PF are claiming is the value. The 2bn is the value of the ore not the value of the mine at sale. Or the value of the shares.
Shuka has already begun fieldwork, including drilling, geophysical surveys, and environmental studies for 2026 and is focused on rehabilitating and exploiting the resource, which was historically operated for 88 years and is rich in zinc and lead.
Before Shuka Minerals completed its 100% acquisition in January 2026, Leopard Exploration and Mining Limited (LEM) in Zambia was owned by a group of eight unrelated parties.
The group of 8 unrelated parties had interests in the Kabwe Mine via their shares in LEM for about 10 years before the sale. Shuka Minerals agreed to a conditional Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) to buy 100% of LEM, which holds the Kabwe zinc mine, for a total of US$4.5 million in cash and shares.
The deal was finalized, and 100% ownership transferred on 16th January, 2026, following delays related to funding, marking the end of the private, 8-party ownership structure.
The Kabwe Mine itself was previously operated by Anglo American plc and Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Limited before it closed in 1994.
The Kabwe zinc mine’s ownership shifted from the Zambian government to private hands between 1994 and 1995, during the privatization process that followed the closure of the mine, which was managed by the state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) under the MMD government.
LEM acquired the mining licence under PF government. The mining license was acquired by Leopard Exploration and Mining (LEM), a subsidiary of BMR Group (later acquired by Shuka Minerals), following a series of transfers, with significant ownership of the assets and license solidified around 2010–2012. In 2012, BMR/EPL completed the acquisition of all relevant assets, including the Large Scale Mining License 6990-HQ-LML from ZCCM-IH. This never happened under UPND.
Who owns LEM?
Based on the acquisition details, Anglorand (Seychelles) Limited was the major shareholder of Leopard Exploration and Mining Limited (LEM) before Shuka Minerals PLC took over, holding a 66.7% interest. Anglorand (Seychelles) Limited is part of the Anglorand Financial Services Group, a South African-based boutique financial services firm. The company is related to entities (including Anglorand Securities Ltd and Anglorand Holdings Ltd) that involve directors such as Geoffrey Llewellyn Carter. The group has a broad presence, including offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Mauritius, and Shanghai, and has a significant interest in other financial entities, such as holding 66.7% of LEM shares as of December 2024.
Back to LEM, the company was a privately held company, not owned by the Zambian government or ZCCM-IH. While the Kabwe Mine was historically operated by Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) in the past (before 1994), the specific entity “Leopard Exploration and Mining Limited” (which held the license from 2014) was a private entity.
So this deal the PF is talking about is purely a private business detail which doesn’t involve the president at all either directly or indirectly.
As earlier indicated, despite the mine sitting idle for decades, it is a mine with one of the world’s highest-grade zinc deposits, with historical grades reaching up to 43% zinc.
More than 14 million tonnes of ore have been mined at Kabwe since commercial production began in 1904. Shuka estimates that 5.7 million tonnes of resources remain, containing about 700,000 tonnes of zinc and 100,000 tonnes of lead, with a combined in-situ value exceeding $2 billion.
Following a recent £1 million equity raise, the company has commenced on-site fieldwork and plans a comprehensive exploration and evaluation programme. This includes confirmatory and step-out diamond drilling, airborne and ground magnetic surveys, geophysics and geotechnical studies, as well as the construction of a sample laboratory at the mine.
According to Shuka CEO Richard Lloyd, by the end of 2026, Shuka aims to further define the Kabwe orebodies and refine exploration targets beyond the current licence area. Chief Executive Richard Lloyd reaffirmed the project’s Phase 1 development metrics, citing an expected pre-tax cash flow of $1.84 billion and a net present value of $561 million, underscoring Kabwe’s potential to anchor Shuka’s growth strategy in southern Africa.
Who owns Shuka?
Gathoni Muchai Investments Limited (GMI) is a substantial shareholder, frequently referred to in recent reports as a major/second-largest shareholder, with a holding of approximately 19.55% to 20.9% as of mid-2025.
The largest shareholder is AUO Commercial Brokerage LLC (associated with Q Global Commodities), which held approximately 29.20% of the company as of mid-2025. Other significant shareholders include Noel Lyons (approx. 6.30%), Peter Geoffrey Edwards (approx. 4.46%), and RAB Capital Holdings Limited (approx. 4.9% as of Jan 2026).
Meanwhile, management/directors, i.e. CEO Richard Lloyd and Non-Executive Director Marc Nally, hold smaller percentages (approx. 1.65% and 1.34% respectively, after Jan 2026 share issues).