Zambia copper output falls 15 per cent

LUSAKA – Zambia’s finished copper output for the six months to June declined 15 per cent to 229 102 tonnes compared with the first half of 2006, the central bank said on Tuesday.

The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) said most copper mines had not reached normal production levels by June after floods earlier in the year and that an export ban for copper ore by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in March had also affected production. The BoZ governor Caleb Fundanga said Zambia produced 229 102 tonnes of copper compared with 264 252 tonnes in the same period last year while cobalt production also declined to 2 172 tonnes from 2 393 tonnes the previous year.Fundanga said the mineral-rich southern African country exported 208 681 tonnes of copper to earn US$1,4 billion, versus 249 425 tonnes of copper in the first six months of 2007.Cobalt exports totalled 1 953 tonnes compared with 2 347 tonnes the previous year.Fundanga said the central bank expected a rebound in copper output despite the slow start and that the country will reach the 2007 copper production target.”Now that the floods are over, we expect better production in the mines.The mines are upbeat and…we believe the industry will do well…the goal must be reached,” he told Reuters.Industry experts forecast Zambia’s copper production will reach 670 000 tonnes in 2007, versus 515 000 tonnes the previous year, and that output will peak at 1,2 million tonnes in 2009.The BoZ said the closure of the Democratic Republic of Congo-Zambia border in March to trucks carrying Congo copper ore affected production of copper at some mines.The border closure followed a row between Katanga governor Moise Katumbi and Zambian investigators, who accuse Katumbi of taking public funds from the country’s Treasury in collaboration with former president Frederick Chiluba.Katumbi denies the allegations.A unit of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, Bwana Mkubwa, treats copper ore it mines at Lonshi in the Congo at its plant in Zambia’s Copper Belt region.Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) also treats ores from the Congo at its Mufulira Smelter.Mopani is Zambia’s No 2 copper producer.Copper mining is Zambia’s economic mainstay and the vast cobalt and copper mines are a major employer in this country of 11,5 million people.Nampa-ReutersThe BoZ governor Caleb Fundanga said Zambia produced 229 102 tonnes of copper compared with 264 252 tonnes in the same period last year while cobalt production also declined to 2 172 tonnes from 2 393 tonnes the previous year.Fundanga said the mineral-rich southern African country exported 208 681 tonnes of copper to earn US$1,4 billion, versus 249 425 tonnes of copper in the first six months of 2007.Cobalt exports totalled 1 953 tonnes compared with 2 347 tonnes the previous year.Fundanga said the central bank expected a rebound in copper output despite the slow start and that the country will reach the 2007 copper production target.”Now that the floods are over, we expect better production in the mines.The mines are upbeat and…we believe the industry will do well…the goal must be reached,” he told Reuters.Industry experts forecast Zambia’s copper production will reach 670 000 tonnes in 2007, versus 515 000 tonnes the previous year, and that output will peak at 1,2 million tonnes in 2009.The BoZ said the closure of the Democratic Republic of Congo-Zambia border in March to trucks carrying Congo copper ore affected production of copper at some mines.The border closure followed a row between Katanga governor Moise Katumbi and Zambian investigators, who accuse Katumbi of taking public funds from the country’s Treasury in collaboration with former president Frederick Chiluba.Katumbi denies the allegations.A unit of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, Bwana Mkubwa, treats copper ore it mines at Lonshi in the Congo at its plant in Zambia’s Copper Belt region.Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) also treats ores from the Congo at its Mufulira Smelter.Mopani is Zambia’s No 2 copper producer.Copper mining is Zambia’s economic mainstay and the vast cobalt and copper mines are a major employer in this country of 11,5 million people.Nampa-Reuters