Nouvel investissement
LUSAKA, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), which is owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources (VED.L: Quote) plans to build two copper treatment plants to help raise output to 400,000 tonnes per year by 2012, it said on Tuesday.
KCM Corporate Affairs Manager Jacqueline Kabeta told Reuters the company would invest $89 million in the two state-of-the-art concentrators to treat ore from two of its mines.
"KCM hopes that together, the two plants, being constructed by Indian firm McNally Bharat Engineering construction company, will add a total of between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of finished copper per month to current KCM production," Kabeta said.
The first concentrator, which would treat ore from the Nchanga underground mine was expected to be commissioned by the end of 2011, she said.
Kabeta said the other copper treatment plants with a capacity to handle 6 million tonnes of copper ore per year would be commissioned by September this year.
"The new plants are designed to get around 85 percent of A/copper recovery, which means acid insolubles copper recovery," she said.
The investment in the two plants was in line with KCM's policy to invest in the best technology in the industry, Kabeta said.
KCM plans to invest $1 billion in the next 3-4 years on expansion and upgrades in a bid to become a major global copper producer, its chief executive said last month. [nLDE6BE1XY] (Editing by James Jukwey)
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