Zambia's '10 Copper Output Seen At 740,000 Tons Up On Year-Government

Zambia's 2010 copper output is expected to hit 740,000 metric tons up from 696,900 tons last year due to increased production at several copper mines, the finance ministry said Monday.

Copper output is expected to keep rising due to the resumption of operations at Luanshya Copper Mines as well as increasing production at copper mines on the Copperbelt and North Western provinces, Likolo Ndalamei, Zambia's secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance said in a report.

Zambia is Africa's largest copper producer.

"With production expected to increase during the third quarter of 2010 total production is now projected at 740,000 tons," he stated.

Zambia's copper production in the first half of 2010 increased by 10.2% to reach 363,682 tons compared with 330,125 tons produced in the same period a year earlier, Ndalamei said.

He added that Zambia's copper mining sector continues to recover positively from the effects of the global economic downturn. Rising global copper prices since last year have induced mines to ramp up production.

Luanshya Copper Mines, which had been closed in 2008 amid dipping global copper prices has since been reopened following its takeover by Chinese-owned NFC Africa, a unit of China Nonferrous Metals Co. (8306.HK). The company announced in July that it intends to invest at least $500 million to develop Chambishi South copper mine on the Copperbelt province.

Zambia's copper production is expected to hit 1 million tons by 2011-12 when Konkola Copper Mines deep mine project comes on stream. KCM is a unit of London-listed Vedanta Resources PLC (VED.LN). Other mining companies operating in Zambia include Toronto-listed First Quantum Minerals Ltd.(FM.T), Equinox Minerals Ltd.(EQN.T), South Africa-based Metorex Ltd.(MTX.JO) and Swiss commodity trader, Glencore International AG.

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75-2624615 [e-mail]