Message Jeu 7 Fév 2013 12:58

Vedanta to invest $200m in Zambia copper mine

LUSAKA - Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources, plans to invest $200-million in an abandoned openpit mine which last produced copper in the 1970s, its CE said on Thursday.

KCM CE Jayekumar Janakaraj said on Thursday that prefeasibility studies had been completed and the company was just awaiting environmental approvals for the project.

The production capacity of the mine had not yet been established but indications were that there was a huge deposit of copper, he said.

"The biggest investment decision will be made in the next three months after (environmental) approval. Mimbula investment will be close to $200-million," Janakaraj said in an interview.

Since 2011, KCM had been carrying out activities at Mimbula including pit de-watering and de-silting as mining had not taken place there for a long time, he said.

"We will start that pit in either the quarter starting November-December or next year. Actual mining of ore should start maybe in early April of next year," he said.

The Mimbula open pit mine was expected to create 500 to 600 jobs in 2014, he said.

KCM started trial mining at a separate project under its Nchanga underground operation where it had invested in modern mining methods to access copper ore from an upper ore body to extend mine life by more than 25 years from 2013, Janakaraj said.

"We expect to get 6 000 to 7 000 ts of copper in the 2013/14 year running from April to March," he said.

Since its acquisition of KCM, Vedanta has invested $2.6-billion in various projects, including the flagship Konkola Deep Mining Project where it has accessed a rich ore body.

KCM was also exploring for coal in southern Zambia and recently obtained a licence to conduct copper exploration in north-western Zambia, he said.

KCM planned to import up to 30,000 tonnes of copper concentrate from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the next few years to enable its 311 000 t/y smelter to run at full capacity, Janakaraj said.