[miningmx.com] — Zambia’s copper production for the eight months to August 2009 rose to 456,004 tonnes compared with 386,322 tonnes in the same period in 2008, the central bank said.
The Bank of Zambia said in a fortnightly report that copper exports were recorded at 433,666 tonnes during the same period in 2009 compared with 361,550 in January to August last year.
The bank said cobalt output fell to 2,456 tonnes from 3,088 tonnes last year, while exports were down to 2,529 tonnes in the same period this year compared with 3,105 tonnes during the eight months to August last year.
Analysts say cobalt output has been declining since 2008 following the closure of Chambishi Metals Plc, the country’s largest producer of the metal.
Zambia, Africa’s largest copper producer, plans to raise copper output to 750,000 tonnes a year by 2010 from 662,000 tonnes this year, although the southern African country’s long term objective is to peak output at 1.0 million tonnes.
