Base metal major Falconbridge (FL-T) has walked away from the Konkola copper project in Zambia.
In February 1997, Falco entered into an arrangement with Anglo American’s 50.6%-owned subsidiary, Zambia Copper Investments, to conduct a prefeasibility study on the Konkola Deep deposit, Zambia’s richest-known copper reserve.
Anglo had originally led a consortium that included South Africa’s Gencor and Australia’s Western Mining, both of which withdrew.
“In light of current market conditions and other priorities, Falconbridge has decided that the Konkola project does not offer sufficient return to justify further investment,” a recent company release states.
Proven reserves at Konkola Deep are estimated at 344 million tonnes grading 3.8% copper. Potential production had been pegged at 180,000 tonnes of copper per year for 30 years.
Resources at the adjacent Konkola North project stand at 390 million tonnes at 2.14% copper.
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