By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA

VEDANTA will remain committed to developing Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) into a major global copper producer, chairperson Tom Albanese has said.

Mr Albanese said the London-listed Vedanta resources and mining company, would work to ensure full potential of KCM was tapped in order for it to continue creating value to the Zambian economy.

Mr Albanese told the premier African mining conference, the Mining Indaba, in Cape Town that, Vedanta would continue to grow its footprints in Africa and this entailed focusing on enhancing efficiency and productivity at KCM.

He said Vedanta, which has operations in South Africa, Namibia and an iron ore project in Liberia, would continue to focus on growth within the continent.

“We do have a strong commitment to Africa and this has been a long-term commitment. Konkola Copper Mines is important to us, we have a symbiotic relationship between Konkola Copper Mines, the government and Zambia,” Mr Albanese said.

“Now we are working to bring KCM to its full potential and capabilities,” he said.

Mr Albanese said that the development of the flagship Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP), the Nchanga smelter, new concentrators and other infrastructure through a US$2.8 billion capital spent in the last nine years, attested to Vedanta’s commitment to Zambia.

The infrastructure upgrades and expansions has created a path to higher productivity of copper at Konkola Copper Mines and that, other projects like Mimbula II in Chingola would be developed in the near future to realise the vision of enhanced productivity

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