Kafue Quarry shuts down

——Frame Arab Contractors, popularly known as Kafue Quarry, has
closed its mining plant in Kafue for running at a loss due to lack of quality rocks in the area.

Company Manager, Adel Mohamed, said his company has been losing 12 Dollars per tonne produced because of poor quality rocks in the area.

Mr Mohamed told ZANIS that the stones that were being mined in the area were rejected by road contractors because they were not strong, adding that the stones which the quarry produced were only ideal for building constructors.

He said the company which has its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt and operates in more than 40 countries worldwide could not continue operating in Zambia due to the huge loss it was incurring.

Mr Mohamed stated that he was, however, waiting for headquarters to inform
him whether to shift the machines to another place in Shimabala area in Kafue or
permanently close the mine.

But some of the workers said Frame Arab Contractors wanted to close the company because it was linked to some corrupt activities.

One of the workers, Paul Kayoka, said there was no way Frame Arab would now claim that the area had poor quality rocks when a survey was first conducted to ascertain the viability of the business they were venturing in.

He has since appealed to government to investigate the truth behind the decision by Frame Arab to close the company in less than two years of operating in Zambia.

He lamented that workers at the company had been working without contracts for more than one year and that others were not paid gratuity when their contracts expired.