By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
ZAMBIA’s copper production increased by over 3,000 tonnes in 2015 despite the power challenge and the falling copper prices on the international market.
Copper production rose to 711,515 tonnes in 2015 from 708,000 tonnes the previous year mainly due to coming on stream of Kalumbila Mine, which is owned by First Quantum Minerals (FQM).
Zambia Chamber of Mines (ZCM) communications manager Talent Ng’andwe said the increase was mainly on account of the 32,952 tonnes of copper which Kalumbila Minerals contributed when it came on stream in February.
Mr Ng’andwe said in an interview that the contribution of Kalumbila Mine was a plus not only to the mining industry but to the economy as a whole.
He said this was so because the industry never expected the production to reach the 700,000 mark considering the challenges the sector was faced with.
“Zambia’s copper production in 2015 increased mainly on account of 32,952 tonnes of copper contribution from Kalumbila Mine.
“We were not expecting that copper production could reach 700,000 but because of Kalumbila Mine, the copper output managed to increase to 711,515,” he said.
Meanwhile, ZCM economist Shula Jalasi-Shula says power outages and low copper prices due to slower growth by top consumer, China, have been piling pressure on Zambia’s mining industry.
Mr Shula was quoted by Reuters as saying that power outages and low copper prices have also threatened output, jobs and economic growth in the Southern African nation.
The Government forecast that 2015 output at mines owned by foreign firms such as Glencore, Barrick Gold Corp and Vedanta Resources would drop to around 600,000 tonnes.
Some mining companies laid off workers and closed certain operations to curb copper output in a bid to support deteriorating prices.
Zambia’s policy flip-flops on royalty taxes during the year also caused concern among mining firms, forcing them to suspend major capital investment in mines.
Zambia’s decision to increase royalties for open pit mines to 20 per cent from six per cent, and those for underground mines to eight per cent from six per cent in January 2015 was met with an outcry from unions and producers, forcing the Government to review the plan.
Zambia then set the royalty tax rate for open cast and underground mining at nine per cent in April instead of earlier plans to charge as much as 20 per cent.