An invasion by illegal miners is threatening the production of three copper mines in Luanshya, Zambia according to Talent Ng’andwe, deputy chief executive, Zambia’s Chamber of Mines.
This issue could result in the mines falling short of their targeted production of 60,000mt of the red metal this year, apart from compromising hundreds of legal jobs, Ng’andwe told the media on Friday.
The Luanshya development is owned by China Nonferrous Mining Corp. and was starting to rebound following a rise in copper prices before it was hit again by illegal mining activities, which may reduce the productive life of the mine and force a premature closure.