By JAMES KUNDA –
MOPANI Copper Mines (MCM) increased its annual copper production by 12,000 tonnes at the end of 2013.
This highlights a growth rate of 13 per cent from the previous year, a latest report has revealed.
MCM, a unit of London-listed Glencore Xstrata Plc, produced 111,000 tonnes of copper at the end of 2013 compared to 99,000 tonnes of the metal produced at the end of 2012.
This was buoyed by an expansion drive that saw the heavy investments to redevelop and expand operations for MCM to boost its production capacity.
MCM has invested US$323 million in a deep mine copper project dubbed the Synclinorium Shaft, which is expected to be commissioned in the second quarter of 2015.
Synclinorium Shaft is designed to extend the lifespan of the MCM operated Nkana copper mine in Kitwe to 30 years with access to 115 million tonnes of mineral ore.
In addition to the Synclinorium Shaft, MCM is upgrading its cobalt plant at a cost of $27million to enable it double the current production capacity to 7,000 tonnes from the current 2,800 tonnes by 2015.
MCM is also on course to complete the final phase of upgrading its Mufulira Smelter for increased capture of sulphur dioxide and reduce emissions.
The company invested over K2.3 billion in upgrading the Mufulira smelter over three phases to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by 97 per cent in 2014.
Since its acquisition of a 90 per cent stake in MCM over a decade ago, Glencore Xstrata has invested over $2billion on redeveloping mining operations at the company.