Vedanta’s Zambia copper unit will revamp smelter to boost output

Vedanta Resources Ltd.’s Zambian copper mining unit plans to refurbish its smelter as part of efforts to ramp up production from operations the company recovered last year.

The plant will undergo “a full shutdown and refurbishment” to “restore structural integrity and improve efficiency,” Konkola Copper Mines said on Wednesday in an emailed statement. While the firm is targeting output of 300,000 tons by the start of next decade, production was less than 10% of that last year.

Vedanta – owned by Indian tycoon Anil Agarwal – regained control of KCM about a year ago after resolving a long-running dispute with the Zambian authorities, partly by pledging to invest more than $1.2 billion over five years to upgrade operations and pay creditors.

The company has already injected over $400 million into KCM since resuming management, including $250 million to settle debts and a $124 million instalment, according to the statement. Much of the capital will be used for completing work on the underground Konkola Deep mining operations. KCM didn’t say how much work on the smelter will cost, when it will start or how long it will take..

Africa’s second-biggest copper producing nation last month waived an export tax for 255,000 tons of copper concentrates, in part because KCM’s smelter isn’t able to process the material.

(By William Clowes)