Namibia’s only refined copper plant has resumed operations after being mothballed for four years, according to Consolidated Copper Corp (CCC).
CCC said it produced high-quality LME Grade A copper cathode at Tschudi, marking the beginning of its plan to revive the southern African country’s copper industry.
“Tschudi has the potential to rival the great copper mines of the Central African Copper Belt,” said CCC chief executive John Sisay.
“Yet, the true measure of our success will lie in the benefits experienced by the local community and our contribution to the clean energy value chain.”
Consistent with Windhoek’s focus on domestic beneficiation of locally produced minerals, CCC’s restart of the Tschudi copper plant marks the first phase of a broader strategy to recommission three brownfield copper mines in Namibia sustainably.
Triangle Resource Partners, a syndicate of some of the CCC founding shareholders, provided a $20 million secured debt facility to fund the processing plant restart.
Recommissioning the Tschudi processing plant has created 61 new Namibian jobs, and more than 75% of the budget for this first phase of the mine restart has been spent locally.
Constructed in 2015, Tschudi is host to Namibia’s only LME-grade refined copper processing facility.
It produced over 80 kilotonnes (kt) of LME Grade A copper cathode up until 2020 when it was placed on care and maintenance.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
