CNMC to start copper mine

[miningmx.com] — China Nonferrous Metal Mining Corp. (CNMC) plans to start building its Mulyashi copper mine in Zambia in January next year, a senior official said on Monday.

Mulyashi is part of Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM), a joint venture of International Mineral Resources (IMR) and Bein Stein Resources Group (BSRG), in which CNMC bought an 85 percent stake earlier this year.

“Mine experts are currently studying the project design, which was created by the former owners of LCM. Our set target is to start the construction process of the mine next January,” the company’s spokesman, Godwin Makenja, told Reuters on Monday.

LCM shut down the Baluba copper mine and abandoned the development of the 60,000 tonnes per year Mulyashi project last December.

CNMC in June pledged to invest $400 million in LCM, which also operated Chambishi Metals Plc, the southern African country’s largest cobalt producer.