Trafigura to purchase 25% of Zambia’s 2010 copper output

Trafigura to purchase 25% of Zambia’s 2010 copper output
By Fridah Zinyama
Wed 10 Feb. 2010, 11:10 CAT

TRAFIGURA Ltd is projecting to purchase about 25 per cent of the 1,000,000 metric tonnes of copper that Zambia will produce in 2010.

And Julien Rolland, a Trafigura Ltd representative, said the firm had in the past tried to bid for crude oil supply in Zambia but had failed to go through despite the vast experience that the company had in the field.

During a media briefing, Trafigura Ltd chief financial officer Pierre Lorinet said the company would buy about 20-25 per cent of all the copper that Zambia would produce this year.

“As a company, we are interested in expanding our operations in Zambia and are optimistic of increasing expenditure activities in the country,” he said.

Lorinet said Trafigura Ltd had a lot of dealings with the mining companies in Zambia and had been buying copper from them since its establishment in 2007.

“We are also interested in building warehousing facilities along the line of rail which will enable us to stock up on commodities whilst waiting to supply them to interested buyers,” he said.

“We believe that using the rail system is a more reliable form of transportation though the Zambian railway system still has some challenges with operations.”

Lorinet added that when the company completes putting its logistics in order, the company would be in a better position to improve its copper purchase and exports.

And Rolland added that Trafigura had tried to tender for provision of crude oil in Zambia but had so far been unsuccessful.

Trafigura Ltd is the third largest independent oil trading company in the world, and the second largest independent trader in the non-ferrous market, moving some two million barrels of oil every day and more than 9 million metric tonnes of non-ferrous material per year.

Trafigura is one of the world’s largest independent commodities trading companies, employing more than 1, 800 people in 44 countries, and 90 per cent of whom are local nationals, with a turnover of $55 billion in 2009.

Trafigura has investments in mines in South and Central America, Spain and North Africa and is geographically diversifying its mining portfolio to Sub-Saharan Africa.