Mufulira to have another copper mine

By CHATULA KANGALI –
MUFULIRA Municipal Council has approved an application for land to construct the US$260 million Mokambo Copper Mine by Changfa Mineral Resources.
The local authority has also extended the operation area from six square Kilometres to 8.5 square Kilometres.
Changfa Mineral Resources general manager Lyu Jing confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.
Mr Lyu said that the local authority had approved and extended the land for the construction of the multi-million dollar copper mine in the border town.
He said the company was currently negotiating with relevant authorities on how to resettle the people from the mining area.
“We are negotiating with the people and relevant authorities on the resettlement of the people in the area, after that, we will start working on the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report,” he said.
He said construction of the mine would commence after resettling the people and getting an approval from ZEMA.
Mr Lyu said the mine once completed, would produce 3,000 tonnes of copper per day with a workforce of about 900.
He said the company had concluded geological surveys, mineral explorations and feasibility studies at the cost of $500 million.
Mr Lyu said an office block and other building infrastructure had already been constructed in the mine area.
He said his company had traced vast and rich copper deposits with potential to extend the country’s mining lifespan.
Mokambo Mine will be the second copper mine in Mufulira District after the Mopani Copper Mine.

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