Copper production halted after spill

LUSAKA – Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has halted copper production at its Tailings Leach Plant on orders from the government after a spill polluted a river, a company official said on Wednesday.

“KCM has been ordered by the mines safety department to shut down the Tailings Leach Plant until it clears the silt which has leaked into the Chingola stream,” KCM spokesman Sam Equamo said in a statement. “The company will comply with the directive and has already instituted an action plan,” said Equamo, who did not give details on what impact the shutdown would have on KCM, which is Zambia’s largest copper producer.Another company official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the shutdown at the plant 420 km north of Lusaka posed a serious problem for KCM, which is majority-owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources Before the production halt, KCM planned to produce 200 000 tonnes of finished copper by December 2006.”We produce about 100 000 tonnes of finished copper per year from the Tailings Leach Plant and this closure will have dire consequences on production because we don’t know when the plant will be re-opened,” the official said.KCM, which produces finished copper from slag dumps and by-products from its concentrator, did not say whether local communities were at risk from the spill.Two water firms, however, told state media that they had cut supplies to residential areas after the spill because the water was dangerous to drink.Mining pollution has become a major concern in Zambian after a lead poisoning scare at Kabwe, a mining town 140 km north of Lusaka.Officials have acknowledged that children faced a threat from pollution caused by the mine, which was shut down in the 1990s.Copper mining is the major employer and a significant source of income in this country of 11,5 million people.Nampa-Reuters”The company will comply with the directive and has already instituted an action plan,” said Equamo, who did not give details on what impact the shutdown would have on KCM, which is Zambia’s largest copper producer.Another company official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the shutdown at the plant 420 km north of Lusaka posed a serious problem for KCM, which is majority-owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources Before the production halt, KCM planned to produce 200 000 tonnes of finished copper by December 2006.”We produce about 100 000 tonnes of finished copper per year from the Tailings Leach Plant and this closure will have dire consequences on production because we don’t know when the plant will be re-opened,” the official said.KCM, which produces finished copper from slag dumps and by-products from its concentrator, did not say whether local communities were at risk from the spill.Two water firms, however, told state media that they had cut supplies to residential areas after the spill because the water was dangerous to drink.Mining pollution has become a major concern in Zambian after a lead poisoning scare at Kabwe, a mining town 140 km north of Lusaka.Officials have acknowledged that children faced a threat from pollution caused by the mine, which was shut down in the 1990s.Copper mining is the major employer and a significant source of income in this country of 11,5 million people.Nampa-Reuters