THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has impounded and seized a truck for attempted smuggling of one of Zambia’s strategic minerals, Lithium.
The interception happened at the Kazungula One Stop Border Post (OSBP) by a team of ZRA officials in collaboration with the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development following investigations against a cartel of exporters misclassifying the export of valuable mineral products.
ZRA corporate communications manager Oliver Nzala said in a statement that an export bound truck ferrying what was said to be Silica Sand was impounded at Kazungula Border Post for verification after a tip-off that it was carrying Lithium Ore.
He said samples were hence collected from the truck by a combined team of ZRA and Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development officers to verify the actual content of the mineral ferried by the truck.
“The exporters declared exporting 29 tonnes of Silica Sands worth K18, 600, when in fact the truck was carrying Lithium Ore of 1.71% worth K296, 000. As a result, the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, has also charged a penalty of K90, 000 on the exporter for false declaration of the export mineral,” Mr Nzala said.
He said interception is as a result of enhanced vigilance in the monitoring of various mineral products that are exiting the country’s borders.“The Authority would like to send a strong warning to all would be perpetrators of such crimes to desist as several measures have been put in place to identify such acts and will ensure that the offenders are brought to book.
The Authority working together with the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development has intensified its mineral quality and mineral valuation verification activities at the borders after noting that a number of mineral exporters have been presenting false samples when applying for Mineral Export Permits. This results in Export Permits for minerals with different quality and values to those finally exported. It is for this reason that samples that are further subjected to testing at various Government and private Laboratories, are being collected at the point of export to verify the accuracy of declarations by mineral exporters,” he said.
Credit Mwebantu
