Zambia’s Chibuluma Mine ranks 9th as world’s top copper producers

Zambia has recently ranked the planet’s top ten producers of copper with its Chibuluma Mine being on the ninth position in the world.

Chibuluma Mine started in 1955 as a self-contained unit producing copper concentrates. It is currently owned 85 percent by Jinchuan Group Company Limited and 15 percent by ZCCM-Investments Holdings. Chibuluma, which is a relatively small mine by Zambian standards, has paid over $100 million in tax since 2007, and has had one fatality in eight years.

Albeit only one Zambian mine makes its list, as the country’s copper grades are generally reduced after many decades of mining. Modern Zambian mining operations have become highly efficient, to make do with reduced ore grades, and remain a major contributor to the country’s economy and exports, Lusaka Times noted.

The growth of the Zambian mining industry is expected to be about 5.5 percent between 2017 and 2021. This expected figure hints that the sector will continue to be a vital contributor to employment and the broader economy. The South African country has recorded a marginal increase in the production of copper to about 861,946 metric tonnes in 2018 from 799,329 in 2017.

Digger News reported that the increased figure in 2018 indicates that Zambia remains Africa’s second big producer of the red metal with DR Congo expected to cross more than 1.2 million metric tonnes.