(XIN) Major Zambian copper mine starts production
2005-03-28 02:53 (New York)
LUSAKA, Mar 28, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The 200-million US dollar Kansanshi
mine in Zambia's North-Western Province has started to produce copper cathode,
local newspaper The Post reported Monday.
Jom Gorman, general manager of the mine, said the mine is expected to produce
70,000 tons of copper cathode and another 70, 000 tons of copper concentrates a
year.
The mine, located 15 km to the north of provincial capital Solwezi, is being
developed by the First Quantum Minerals Limited, a Canadian firm, at a cost of
200 million US dollars.
Construction work at the site was started in September 2003. The mine started
producing copper concentrates in the last quarter of 2004.
Kansanshi is one of the two major copper mines being developed in Solwezi. The
other one, Lumwana, is being developed by the Australian Equinox Resources
Limited. It is expected to produce 140,000 tons of copper and 1,000 tons of
cobalt a year when construction work completes in 2006.
Driven by strong demands and higher prices in the international market, Zambia
has seen a drastic increase of investment in the copper mining sector.
The government expects that Zambia's copper production would recover its
historical high of 700,000 tons a year when Lumwana and other new mines are
commissioned in the next few years.
Copyright 2005 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY. |
