First Quantum hits its stride at Zambian copper project

A US$30-million tailings retreatment operation in Zambia is now producing copper at full capacity, First Quantum Minerals (FM-V) reports.

Situated at the site of the past-producing Bwana Mkubwa mine in Zambia’s copper belt, the operation is on track to produce 10,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year from a reserve of 8.4 million tonnes of oxide tailings grading 0.73%. That reserve is sufficient for five years of production, though other waste sites, as well as ore remaining in the open pit, could extend the life of the project to 10 years. The company expects to produce, through solvent-extraction electrowinning techniques, 7,080 tonnes of copper cathode and 150 lbs. of copper scrap by November. Operating costs at the project stand at US33cents per lb., though sulphuric acid credits are expected to lower the net cost to zero.

First Quantum also holds the licence to 5,800 ha of nearby ground on which it has begun geophysical and geochemical surveys.

The project is the first to begin operations under Zambia’s revised mining code.