MOPANI Copper Mines (MCM) has spent US$1.2 billion on the sinking of three new shafts to extend the lifespan of its mines in Kitwe and Mufulira by over 25 years.
MCM corporate affairs manager Cephas Sinyangwe said in an interview in Kitwe on Saturday that the expansion programme will enable the mining company to increase copper output by 50 percent.
Mr Sinyangwe named the shafts as Synclinorium and Mindolo in Kitwe and the Mufulira operations.
He said the Synclinorium shaft at Nkana mine is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year while Mindolo and Mufulira shafts will be completed in 2017.
“The expansion programme, costing in excess of US$1 billion, includes sinking, equipping and constructing the new Synclinorium, Mindola and Mufulira. These capital projects will extend Mopani’s mining life by a further 20-30 years and ensure the current workforce is maintained and possibly increased,” Mr Sinyangwe said.
He said the development is expected to increase copper ore hosting capacity from the current six million metric tonnes to 11 million metric tonnes per annum from 2017 onwards.
“The shafts will sustain economic benefits to local businesses that are dependent on mining. A perfect example is Nkana Mine. Without sinking the Synclinorium shaft, production would have slumped from the current three million tonnes per year to approximately 1.6 million tonnes per year by 2016/2017.
“It is expected that once commissioned later this year, production at Nkana mine will eventually rise to around five million tonnes of copper ore per annum,” Mr Sinyangwe said.
ambians dont own the copper which is a lot and the only thing we zambians are proud of ..why cant we break the chains away from these imperialist instead of fighting each other weather dora pf or upnd will win or not what most people are not even aware of is that this white guys will continue to steal our copper ,wildlife,diamonds,gold ,emeralds..why cant we get our mines back..?why cant we have our own mobile phone providers? the ignorant wont like this but it doesnt matter who is in power today in zambia whether its pf or upnd zambia cant develop overnight..
GOOD NEWS and TROUBLING NEWS at the same time.
GOOD NEWS;- This is a good and timely investment because among other things:-
1.) According to Mining Journals, the estimated remaining Copper Ore deposits in Zambia are approximately equal to the total Copper Ore that has been mined since mining began. In other words, in football terms Zambia is just starting the second half now.
2.) The Copper price on the World Market is proving to be proportionately much higher in the second half than it was in the first half. This is coupled with advancement in Technology in cost effective methods of copper extraction and refining.
The TROUBLING NEWS is that, whereas the first half of the game of Copper mining resulted into birth of towns and cities with necessary support services to Zambia …
Cont’d… Zambia thru NCCM RCM and later ZCCM, it is now a very grey area to see what plans are in place to make the second half of the game bring the same dividend. Second half should actually bring more than the first half because as we all know, tonnes and tonnes of our Copper was used to develop Britain in the first half. Now, we no longer have this organised crime now, ….erh.. or do we? This is a very serious matter for our future generation because the game of copper as we know it will be over in only about 50 years. Without a comprehensive plan, thats not a long time at all. Then what? Are we going to blame Britain again? This is troubling.