Lumwana signs 5-year deal with KCM

Lumwana signs 5-year deal with KCM
Written by Kabanda Chulu
Friday, May 08, 2009 5:30:27 PM

LUMWANA Mining Company (LMC), a subsidiary of Equinox Minerals Limited, has signed a five-year off-take agreement with Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) for the processing of Lumwana copper concentrates.

This agreement comes after Mopani Copper Mines at Mufulira smelter refused to treat Lumwana copper concentrates, claiming that it was not within contract specifications.

Announcing the development yesterday, Equinox Minerals president Craig Williams stated that the agreement would entail annual processing of quantities between 70,000 and 80,000 dry metric tonnes of concentrates from the Lumwana copper mine with an option by mutual agreement for additional annual quantities of Lumwana copper concentrates under the same terms as the agreement.

Williams stated that copper treatment and refining charges under the agreement would be determined annually based on Japanese Smelter Benchmark terms.

“This new long-term off-take agreement with KCM supplements the Lumwana’s existing long-term off-take agreement with Chambishi Copper Smelter Limited and together will account for a large majority of Lumwana’s budgeted production,” stated Williams. “Outside of these agreements, LMC continues to make deliveries of concentrates to international metal traders under short-term contracts providing Equinox with concentrate off-take flexibility.”

KCM is majority owned by Vedanta Resources Plc, a London-listed metals and mining company. The mine recently installed and commissioned the new Nchanga modern smelter with output capacity of 300,000 tonnes per annum of copper anode and 1,850 tonnes per day of sulphuric acid.

KCM also operates the Nchanga and Konkola copper mines, the Nkana Refinery and is developing the Konkola Deep copper mine.