Zambia can be Africa’s No.1 copper miner – KCM chief

Thu, 27 Apr 2017 11:23:16 +0000

By SANDRA MACHIMA

ZAMBIA can restore its position as Africa’s largest copper producer if all smelters in the country reach their full capacity, says Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) chairman and Vedanta Resources Plc chief executive officer Tom Albanese.

Mr Albanese said the nations which forge industrial strategies aimed at diversifying their economies and building domestic and cross-border value chains to serve national and regional consumers would flourish in the current subdued global metals market.

Mr Albanese disclosed that more than $3 billion had been invested in KCM on mine expansions and upgrades, which include the Nchanga copper smelter, three concentrators and a Tailings Leach plant.

He said KCM was currently working with engineering consultants to review some of the technologies it could employ to boost production.

Mr Albanese said Vedanta and KCM’s objective was to increase production levels to 400,000 tonnes of copper each year, which would quadruple KCM’s production over the next three to seven years.

“I expect Zambia to fall into this category,” he said.

“It is this unique knowledge of the copper industry that draws miners from across the world and underpins the compact in the sector, and this compact forms the basis for the creation of shared value in Zambia,” he said.

Mr Albanese was speaking when he delivered the key note speech at the Zambia Mining Investment Conference held in London yesterday.

While highlighting Vedanta’s 50-year vision for mining on the Copperbelt, he noted that the focus would be on ramping up KCM’s flagship Konkola Deep Mine, as well as working more closely with local communities to help diversify the economy by supporting initiatives in agriculture and technology.

‘’We want to see Zambia’s copper industry flourish, of course, but we also want to see the creation of new enterprises and industries around these mining facilities that will provide better local sourcing options for our business and greater stability for communities in the Copperbelt,’’ Mr Albanese said.

He said the company  wanted to mine deeper, specifically at the Konkola Deep underground mine, saying such had ranked among the world’s top 20 in terms of grade, with a delineated volume of around 300 million tonnes of ore.