Vedanta eyes Exxaro's Namibia zinc operation

WINDHOEK: London-listed Vedanta is in talks with South African diversified miner Exxaro about acquiring the Rosh Pinah zinc mine in Namibia, the New Era newspaper said on Tuesday.

The paper said negotiations had reached an advanced stage but did not say how much the mine might be sold for. Vedanta acquired Anglo American's zinc interests for $1.34 billion, including its Namibian Skorpion Zinc operation, the Black Mountain mine, the Gamsberg project in South Africa and Lisheen mine in Ireland, earlier this year.

Vedanta paid $698 million for Skorpion Zinc, adjacent to the Rosh Pinah mine. Exxaro owns 50.4 per cent of Rosh Pinah, which produced 94,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 20,000 tonnes of lead in 2009, while the balance of the shares are held by Namibian empowerment groups.