Barrick Gold has initiated a $2 billion development project for a Super Pit at its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia, paving the way for construction to commence in 2025.
It said its objective is to transform Lumwana to the status of a Tier 1 copper mine, thereby elevating it to the top 25 worldwide copper producers.
Barrick said that the expansion will initially concentrate on tripling the throughput of the current process circuit, which will after that result in an increase in mining quantities.
The processing plant's throughput is anticipated to increase from 27 million tonnes to 52 million tonnes, resulting in a twofold increase in Lumwana's copper output from 120,000 tonnes per year (t/y) to a life-of-mine average of 240,000 t/y.
By 2028, the mining volumes will expand incrementally, from 150 million tonnes in 2025 to about 240 million tonnes, and subsequently reach an average of 290 million tonnes annually by 2030.
This will support the process of plant expansion.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
