Metalnewsnet 5 Feb:

Reuters reported that Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines plans to build a USD 170 million copper plant with an annual output of 50,000 tonnes.

KCM said that in an application for the project to the Environmental Council of Zambia the plant, to be located in the Nchanga mine area in Chingola about 411 kilometers North West of Lusaka would treat 12 million tonnes of refractory ore material per year.

Under Zambian law, the ECZ needs to approve all major infrastructure projects such as mines.

KCM said that the proposed project will be a stand alone hydrometallurgical plant with its own support facilities such as crushing, milling, electro winning, residual neutralization and disposal. It is expected to cover an area of about 186,269 square meters with an estimated lifespan of 13 years. The company said that the proposed project is a brown field already impacted on by ongoing mining and processing operations.

The company has been implementing a number of new projects, including reclaiming refractory ores at Nchanga open pit under a new business plan to raise annual copper output to 500,000 tonnes by 2011.

KCM had planned to more than double output to 305,000 tonnes of copper cathode in the 2009 financial year ending in March 2010 from 140,000 tonnes produced the previous financial year but now says it will not meet the target due to the global financial crunch.

According to Vedanta's Q3 results released recently, the firm produced 120,000 tonnes of copper in the nine months ending December 31st 2009 compared with 98,000 tonnes in the corresponding period in 2008. Copper production at KCM rose to 41,958 tonnes in the 3 months to December 31st 2009 compared with 25,427 tonnes in the same quarter of 2008.

(from Reuters)