Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: GOLD) (TSX: ABX) will invest billions in transforming a Zambian copper mine to revive the country’s copper industry, president and chief executive Mark Bristow said Tuesday after a meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema
The giant miner announced on Wednesday it is investing US$2 billion in expanding Lumwana mine’s annual production to an estimated 240,000 tonnes of copper from a 50 million tonne per annum process plant over a 36-year life of mine.
The company took over the mine in 2019 and has contributed around US$3 billion to the Zambian economy in taxes, royalties and salaries. Around 99.3 per cent of its current workforce are Zambian nationals.
The mine was inaugurated in April 2009 by Equinox Minerals, which was acquired by Barrick for CAD$7.3 billion in July 2011.
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“This is a show of confidence in our New Dawn government by one of the world’s leading mining companies,” President Hichilema said in a statement.
“Our laser focus is on establishing Zambia as a global mining destination. We have also set ourselves the target of producing 3 million tonnes of copper by 2030. Barrick is a key strategic partner on this journey.”
President Hichilema urged Barrick to give top priority to utilizing local resources and enhance the involvement of Zambian suppliers in the operations at the Lumwana mine.
Additionally, he expressed his support for Barrick to adopt cutting-edge mining technologies and make investments in downstream value addition, aligning with New Dawn’s vision of establishing eco-friendly industrial hubs in Zambia.
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Bristow said that Lumwana was already on track to deliver its production guidance for the year and was ramping up owner mining with both the reopening of the Malundwe pit as well as the delivery of the new owner mining pre-stripping fleet.
“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.
Barrick’s stock dropped slightly by 1.6 per cent on Wednesday to $19.16 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
