Zambia's Konkola reopens Chingola copper mine after 18-year shutdown
LUSAKA – Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines resumed mining at its Chingola "B" Mine on Thursday, 18 years after operations ceased, as Africa's second-largest copper producing nation pushes to more than triple its annual output to three-million tons by 2031.
The mine, part of the Nchanga mining complex, is projected to produce more than 200,000 tons of ore per month, KCM CE Deshnee Naidoo said in a statement.
The mine produced about 60,000 tons per month at an average grade of 2.5% between 1980 and 2003.
KCM, 79.4% owned by Vedanta Resources and 20.6% by Zambia's State investment company ZCCM-IH, operates mines and processing plants in Chingola, Chililabombwe, Kitwe and Nampundwe.
Zambia produced 890 346 t of copper last year, below its one-million-ton target.
