[miningmx.com] — ZAMBIAN President Rupiah Banda on Thursday inaugurated a new $380m copper mine project, a joint venture between South Africa’s AFRICAN RAINBOW MINERALS LIMITED and Brazilian group Vale.
The JV partners are to construct the new Konkola North mine in Chililabombwe, in the country’s Copperbelt region.
Zambia is southern Africa’s largest copper producer.
The mine is expected to become operational in two years, with the annual output expected to be around 45,000 tons of copper, contributing to a nationwide production target of one million tons by 2013, presidential spokesman Dickson Jere said.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Banda said he was looking forward to the development and prosperity the new mine would bring to the area.
“This demonstrates the success both of my government’s policy of nurturing an investment climate that encourages the sector’s growth, and of the privatisation of Zambia’s mining sector 12 years ago, which together have breathed new life into Zambian mineral mining, despite the recent global economic recession,” he said.
According to the government, the project will create 1,500 jobs in the construction phase and 1,500 more when the mine is fully operational.
Zambia’s mine workers union has opposed the involvement of Vale in the development of the mine. In July, the union accused the Brazilian company of having a bad labour relations record.
