Zambia concludes mine tax audits after slapping huge bill on First Quantum

LUSAKA, May 7 (Reuters) - Zambia concluded audits of mining companies that prompted the nation to slap Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals with a tax bill of over 76.5 billion Zambian kwacha ($8 billion), its revenue authority said on Monday.

First Quantum, which owns two copper mines in Zambia, said in March that Zambia's tax agency had demanded the taxes, saying they were on import duties, penalties and interest on consumables and spare parts.

There are dozens of mining companies operating in Zambia, mainly extracting copper.

The ZRA said on Monday it had audited all the major mining companies in Zambia and informed them what they owed.

"The results of the customs audit have since been communicated in writing to our tax payers. Some of them are responding, while others have asked for more time which we have since granted," said in a statement.

"Please note that this is a normal audit process and that the authority is not targeting any particular company."

ZRA said it would issue another update once the audit process was completed.

Other major mining companies operating in Zambia include Vedanta Resources, Barrick Gold Corp and Glencore. ($1 = 10.0000 Zambian kwachas) (Reporting by Chris Mfula Editing by James Macharia)