[miningmx.com] – ZAMBIA will produce as much as 26% less copper this year owing to power shortages which led to output cuts, said Bloomberg News citing the comments of the southern African country’s finance minister, Alexander Chikwanda.
“By the end of the year, I don’t think we’ll go far beyond, very much beyond 600,000 tons,” Chikwanda told the newswire. “Next year, it will be an easy target to be beat. I’m sure the mining industry will come up.”
Africa’s second-biggest producer of the metal is struggling to meet half of peak electricity demand at a time when mines, including Glencore’s local unit, have announced the suspension of local operations, said Bloomberg News. The government had forecast 808,000 metric tons in output for 2015. The country produced about 708,000 tons last year.
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