CAPE TOWN – Zambia expects to increase its annual copper output to 1.5-million tonnes, boosted by improved electricity supply and eased tensions with producers over policy, mines minister Christopher Yaluma said on Tuesday.
"The outlook for Zambian mining looks very, very positive," he told the African News Agency on the sidelines of an annual international mining conference in Cape Town.
"We had power constraints that have been cleared. We had restricted the mining industry to 70% instead of 100% power availability. Now that has been worked on, and the commodity price is good."
"We are around about 800 000 t (copper production) but we feel come next year we’ll hit 1.5-million tonnes," Yaluma added.