Message Ven 13 Déc 2013 02:08

FQM to boost smelter capacity

FQM to boost smelter capacity

Posted December 12, 2013 by hilda lumba in Business
By JAMES KUNDA -

FIRST Quantum Minerals (FQM) will design and build an expansion to the 1.2 million tonne-per-annum copper smelter currently under construction to cushion the declining mineral smelting capacity in Zambia.


Without expanding the smelter, there would have been insufficient capacity to process all the concentrate which will be produced from FQM’s Sentinel and Kansanshi mines in Solwezi.


FQM chief executive officer Philip Pascall said the move by the mining giant to expand its smelting capacity was necessitated by the high cost of exporting copper concentrate.


“The availability of in-country, third-party smelting capacity is declining to the extent that even with the completion of the company’s current smelter project there would be insufficient capacity to process all of the copper concentrate.


“As a result, it has been decided that we design and build an expansion to the 1.2 million tonnes-per-annum copper smelter,” Mr Pascall said.


He said construction works at the US$690million copper smelter were approaching peak levels and commissioning was intended for mid 2014.


The facility is expected to operate at 80 per cent of its design capacity by mid 2015 and achieve 100 per cent in early 2016.


“It is intended to process a combination of concentrate from both Kansanshi and the new Sentinel Mine, currently under construction, bringing production estimates at more than 300,000 tonnes of copper and one million tonnes of sulphuric acid annually,” he said.


Mr Pascall said the move to expand the smelter meant that FQM would defer the completion of the previously announced Kansanshi sulphide expansion until 2017.
Ce que l'on conçoit bien, s'énonce clairement, Et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément. BOILEAU