Zambia is expected to produce more than 1 million tons of copper this year due to stable power supplies, Paul Chanda, the country's executive secretary for mining, said recently.
Zambia had already revised its copper production for 2017, and Chanda said zambian copper production figures had been raised to 800,000 tonnes from the 786,731 tonnes announced by the zambian bank last month. Zambia produced 774, 290 tons of copper in 2016.
"" we actually reached 800,000 tons last year, and we're sure we'll reach 1 million tons or more this year," "Chanda told reporters.
Demand for the metal is expected to remain high as copper-dominated electric vehicles enter the market, a big driver for mining companies, Chanda said.
He said a new shaft at the silver-owned maupany copper mine (MCM) and an expansion project at China nonferrous African mining (NFCA) would start production this year and further boost zambian copper production in 2018 and beyond.
Zambia, one of Africa's two largest copper producers, will see continued growth as energy tensions ease, further narrowing the gap with Africa's top copper producer, Dr Congo.