Zambia earned more than USD 5 million through exports of copper by the end of last year, having produced more than 800,000 tonnes of the metal. According to the central Bank of Zambia, the country, Africa’s largest copper producer the fourth largest provider of the metal on the international market realized USD 5.8 million after it exported 819,913 tonnes of copper to the metal market. Mr Jonathan Chipili assistant director at the Lusaka based Bank of Zambia said in Solwezi in north western Zambia that China was one of the main earners of copper exports because of the increased demand for the commodity. The increased demand for copper on the metal market that has prompted the commodity to fetch about U$$10,000 per tonne has prompted the local currency, the kwacha depreciate in recent months although it is seemingly positive at the moment. Mr Chipili said that in April 2010, the price of the metal rebounded to around USD 7,700.00 per tones on easing concerns about the global financial crisis before sliding to about USD 6,500 per tonne in June 2010 following the Euro Zone debt crisis which threatened global economic recovery. On projections of tight supply of copper after 2010, the price sharply rose and ended the year at about USD 9,000 per tonne and in early 2011 the price of copper continued receiving support from expectations of tight supply in the year and buoyed further to hit a record high of USD 10,160 per tone in February 2011. He said that after February the price softened on the back of unfolding developments such as political unrest in North Africa and Middle East, concerns about the Euro Zone debt crisis, earthquake and subsequent Tsunami in Japan, China’s monetary policy tightening due to rising inflationary pressures and Standards and Poor’s threat to cut the United States prized AAA credit credit rating aversely affected the metal. Zambia envisions increasing copper outturn this year to more than 800,000 tonnes per annum from a low 750,000 last year. It envisions increasing output of the metal in the subsequent years to 1.5 million with the expected oncoming of a number of mining projects in the country that include First Quantum Minerals Limited’s USD 1 billion Kalumbila new copper project in north western Zambia. Konkola Copper Mines, a unit of Vedanta Resources is soon expected to bring on stream its flagship Konkola Deep Mine Project which it envisions to raise copper output to more than 400,000 tonnes per annum and later raise its production to about 7 million tonnes per annum in the near future. Konkola Copper Mines is Zambia’s largest copper producer with Mopani Copper Mines and China Non Metals Africa Corporation increasing its output to the country’s copper production. (Filed by Mr Kapembwa Sinkamba SteelGuru Correspondent Zambia)

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