Brazilians, South Africans Plan Zambia Copper Mine

Vale S.A., the world’s biggest exporter of iron ore, and African Rainbow Minerals Ltd. will jointly invest US$400 million in the development of a new copper mine at Konkola North in northern Zambia. Vale is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, while African Rainbow Minerals is headquartered near Johannesburg, South Africa.

Construction of the mine will begin this September, and is expected to take two-and-a-half years to complete, Eduard Ledsham, an executive director of Vale, told reporters in Lusaka, Zambia. “The Konkola North mine will become a kick-off for our copper mining in Africa,” Ledsham said. “We expect to have another project for exploration in the area near this one.”

Located north of the Konkola Deep mine operated by Vedanta Resources Plc., the Konkola North mine is expected to begin production in 2013. Initial output of copper is estimated at 50,000 metric tons a year, which will later be expanded to 100,000 tons, Ledsham said. Zambia is Africa’s biggest copper producer.