[Cobalt] Zambia's 2006 copper output jumps 7% on year, cobalt production down
Source: Hoovers
metalsplace.com
Zambia's 2006 copper output increased by 7.1% compared with the previous year, due to increased investments in the sector spurred by a recovery in world copper prices on the international market, the Ministry of Finance said Monday.
Copper output in 2006 was 492,016 metric tons, up from 459,324 tons produced in 2005, the report said.
"The mining sector continued to perform well in 2006. Preliminary estimates indicate that real gross domestic product growth in the mining and quarrying sector increased to 11.8% from 7.9% in 2005. This was largely on account of the rise in mineral production" Ngandu Magande, the Zambian finance minster said in a report presented to the national Assembly Friday.
Cobalt production, however, fell to 4,658 tons in 2006 from 5,537 tons in 2005, – a drop attributed to companies' reduced interest in producing the metal due to unfavorable world prices.
Copper output fell below the earlier forecast of 530,000 tons due to operational problems faced by the country's two leading copper produces, Mopani Copper Mines, or MCM, and Konkola Copper Mines, or KCM, late in 2005, according to Fredrick Bantumbuze, the director of the Zambian Chamber of Mines. The major problem was the fuel crisis which forced KCM to halve daily output at Nkana smelter and MCM closed its Mufulira smelter for over a month late 2005.
Copper and cobalt mining are the life blood of the Zambian economy. The copper mining sector witnessed increased investments since 2002, and according to data from the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, up to $2 billion has been invested in the sector since 2002.
The country's 2007 copper output is projected to be 600,000 tons and it is expected to reach more than 700,000 tons next year when Equinox's Lumwana mine comes into production, the Chamber of Mines said. |
