Barrick invests $2 billion in expansion of copper mine in Zambia
Barrick is investing almost $2 billion in an expansion project designed to increase Lumwana’s annual production to an estimated 240,000 tonnes of copper over a 36-year life of mine.
The company said that the project’s accelerated work program is targeting completion of the full feasibility study by the end of 2024, bringing expected expanded process plant production forward to 2028.
The Lumwana copper mine is a conventional open pit (truck and shovel) operation. The mine is located about 100 kilometers west of Solwezi in Zambia’s Copperbelt — one of the most prospective copper regions in the world.
Lumwana ore, which is predominantly sulfide, is treated through a conventional sulfide flotation plant, producing copper concentrate. In 2022, the mine produced ~121,000 tonnes of copper.
“Barrick’s transformation of its Lumwana mine into a world-class producer will provide strong impetus for the government’s thrust to revive the country’s copper industry,” president and chief executive Mark Bristow said yesterday after a meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
Since Barrick took over operations at Lumwana in 2019, the mine has contributed almost $3 billion to the Zambian economy in the form of taxes, royalties, salaries and the procurement of goods and services. In addition to its local procurement policy, the company said it is also committed to local employment, and 99.3% of Lumwana’s current workforce are Zambian nationals.
“Barrick believes that its host countries are its key stakeholders and that partnering with them creates sustainable value for both of us. In Zambia as elsewhere in our global network, we seek to share the economic benefits generated by our mines with the countries’ governments and people, notably our neighbouring communities,” Bristow said.
Looking at Lumwana’s current performance, Bristow said it was on track to deliver its production guidance for 2023 and was ramping up owner mining with both the reopening of the Malundwe pit as well as delivery of the new owner mining pre-stripping fleet.
The expansion of the Lumwana mine is an important part of the company’s plan to double its copper production by the end of the decade and continue to increase it to an estimated 450,000 tonnes of copper per annum by 2031, which would place Barrick among the senior copper producers.
