Head of State in Africa’s red metal hotspot on January 07, courted EMR Capital Resources Ltd Lubambe Copper Mine (LCM) in Chililabombwe as part of his Copperbelt of Africa visit. President Edgar Lungu during this visit instructed the mining and lands authorities alongside the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to support the Lubambe expansionary project.
“We will supply and expedite the project without compromise in quality and standards, this is my promise for 2021 to you,” His Excellency Dr. Edgar Lungu said. The price of copper is going up and will not come down soon as such we should support the expansionary project to benefit the economy.
“This is a world class, high copper grade project that will see 235million metric tons throughout the life span of the project with 2.7% ore grade which is double what the existing Lubambe project is producing. The project has good economics and will integrate well with the existing mine which upon expiry will transition seamlessly into the new project,” Mine Operations Director Tony Davis said in his speech.
Lubambe remains a key contributor to Zambia’s economic development with lucrative prospects and immense potential to push the copper producing life span of the Southern African nation miles ahead, ahead of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Earlier in December 2020, Zambia’s head of state launched the 2020-2023 economic recovery plan (ERP) which highlighted mining as one of the key sectors to drive ‘V’ shaped economic rebound. The copper producer will among other things seek to address its stake in the mines while simultaneously addressing some of the challenges that the mining sector faces ranging from taxation to stability in policies.
Copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has since recovered 76% to trade for 8year highs at levels a few dollars shy of $8,000/MT from COVID induced supply chain disruption price lows of $4,343/MT. This rally is supported by economic recovery in China, US election outcome and Greenfield – electric car- related projects to come.
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