Zambia registered an increase of 10.8pc in its copper output, having produced 882,061mt of copper in 2020, compared to 796,430mt in 2019, which according to the country’s mines minister Richard Musukwa, is a “historical high”.
Musukwa said Zambia aims to produce more than 900,000mt of copper in 2021 and has a long-term goal of exceeding 1mn mt in annual production.
A worldwide shift to electric cars, which use much more copper than cars using traditional combustion engines, is expected to boost production of the metal, the minister said.
“The prospects for the mining sector look positive despite COVID-19,” he said.
Nickel
Nickel production in Zambia more than doubled to 5,712mt in 2020 from 2,500mt in 2019, with restructuring and streamlining of nickel operations helping production grow, the minister said.