Le Cuivre

[energy_isere]

India: Copper products to contain 20% recycled content by 2031

Martijn Reintjes – August 24, 2024

The Indian government has presented a new roadmap to reduce the country’s dependence on primary resources and reduce the environmental impact of mining.
By 2028, new products made from non-ferrous metals will have to contain a minimum of 5% recycled content.

Indian media report this requirement will progressively increase, reaching 10% in 2029. By 2031, products made of aluminium will have to have 10% recycled content, while for copper the target is 20% and 25% for zinc.

EPR scheme

The new regulations not only require non-ferrous metal producers to recycle a specified percentage of their products but also introduce an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme

https://recyclinginternational.com/comm ... 031/58264/

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suite de ce post du 7 janvier 2024 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 2#p2382652

Cordoba Minerals bags Alacran permit approval in Colombia

Henry Lazenby - The Northern Miner | August 29, 2024


A drill rig at the Alacran project completing the 25,000-metre initial phase of the in-fill drilling program. Credit: Cordoba Minerals

Cordoba Minerals (TSXV: CDB) has secured a construction permit for the Alacran copper-gold-silver project in Colombia with work set to start by the second quarter next year, assuming it can finance the $420.4 million project.


The Colombian National Mining Agency approved the mining technical work plan filed in November 2021. Cordoba plans to complete detailed mine engineering this year for the project it’s developing with China-based partner JCHX Mining Management.

“The approval means we are one step closer to build the next copper-gold mine in Colombia,” CEO Sarah Armstrong Montoya said in a statement.

Designated a ‘project of national interest,’ the Alacran open-pit, set to be Colombia’s largest copper mine, anchors Cordoba’s San Matias package. JCHX’s $100 million stake, secured in 2022, includes a final $20 million payment tied to the approval of the feasibility study and environmental impact assessment.

The permit approval marks a big milestone for Cordoba as it progresses towards developing what Montoya believes could become Colombia’s next major copper-gold mine.

A December feasibility study for Alacran outlines a $420.4 million cost for the 14.2-year project. The mine plan yields an after-tax net present value of $360 million (at an 8% discount) and an internal rate of return of 23.8%.

The study projects total metal production of 797.2 million lb. of copper, 550,000 oz. of gold, and 5.35 million oz. of silver from probable reserves of 97.9 million tonnes grading 0.41% copper, 0.23 gram gold per tonne and 2.63 grams silver.

In Arizona, Cordoba is spending $14.2 million to earn an 80% share of the Perseverance porphyry copper project in about two years.

At C$0.40 apiece on Thursday, Cordoba shares are up 2.6% over the past 12 months, having touched C$0.42 and C$0.80. It has a market capitalization of C$81.8 million ($60.6m).

https://www.mining.com/cordoba-minerals ... -colombia/

[energy_isere]

Cuivre : les perspectives de prix revues à la baisse sur fond d’excédent jusqu’en 2025

Agence Ecofin 06 sept 2024

Après avoir atteint un record de 10 800 dollars la tonne en mai 2024, le prix du cuivre a reculé ces derniers mois, dans un contexte de faiblesse de la demande. Les perspectives à long terme restent néanmoins positives, confortant les plans de hausse de la production de la RDC et de la Zambie.

L’excédent actuel sur le marché du cuivre devrait se prolonger et légèrement se renforcer en 2025, a annoncé fin août le deuxième producteur mondial BHP. Cette prévision intervient alors que le prix du cuivre s’est contracté de 19 % depuis son pic à plus de 10 800 dollars atteint en mai à la bourse des métaux de Londres (LME).


Evolution du prix du cuivre sur LME

BHP attribue une partie de cet excédent à la forte contraction du secteur des logements en Chine, premier consommateur mondial de cuivre. Selon Ole Hansen, responsable de la stratégie des matières premières chez Saxo Bank, la reprise de l’activité industrielle généralement observée dans l’empire du Milieu au deuxième trimestre de l’année et qui tend à réduire les stocks de matières premières ne s’est pas produite en 2024.

« Au lieu de cela, nous avons vu les stocks surveillés par les principaux marchés à terme continuer à augmenter à un rythme rapide, signalant une période d’inadéquation majeure entre l’offre et la demande, principalement en raison de la faiblesse de la demande », explique l’analyste.

Goldman Sachs évoque aussi le ralentissement de l’économie chinoise ces derniers mois pour justifier la revue à a baisse de ses prévisions de prix pour le métal rouge. Selon les analystes de la banque, le cuivre devrait se négocier à 10 100 dollars la tonne en 2025, soit un recul par rapport à l’estimation précédente de 15 000 dollars la tonne. La prévision de 12 000 dollars la tonne annoncée pour fin 2024 est par ailleurs reportée à après 2025.


Impact limité sur les producteurs

Les changements annoncés peuvent réduire les revenus espérés par les producteurs de cuivre, si les prévisions initiales de prix se concrétisaient. Ils ne remettent néanmoins pas en cause les perspectives à long terme qui restent positives pour les acteurs impliqués dans l’exploitation du cuivre.

Pour BHP par exemple, l’offre mondiale ne devrait pas augmenter aussi vite que la demande, conduisant à des déficits dans la seconde moitié de cette décennie. Selon l’Agence internationale de l’énergie, les mines existantes et les projets qui entreront bientôt en production permettront seulement de satisfaire 80 % de la demande mondiale à l’horizon 2030.

Dans un tel contexte, les prix du cuivre pourraient rester élevés et même s’envoler vers des sommets insoupçonnés. Pour Pierre Andurand, gestionnaire de fonds spéculatif cité par le Financial Times, les prix du cuivre pourraient atteindre 40 000 dollars la tonne. Quoi qu’il en soit, les revenus des principaux pays producteurs devraient augmenter, soit grâce à la hausse des prix ou de la production, ou encore une combinaison de ces deux éléments.

En Afrique, les deux grands bénéficiaires de ces perspectives positives seront la RDC et la Zambie. Le premier a doublé sa production de cuivre en cinq ans, atteignant 2,8 millions de tonnes en 2023. Cette croissance peut encore s’accélérer dans les années à venir, notamment avec l’augmentation de la capacité de production des mines existantes, comme Kamoa-Kakula, ou à l’entrée en production de nouvelles mines.

En 2023, la RDC a concentré 65 % des nouvelles réserves de cuivre identifiées dans le monde, illustrant le dynamisme de l’exploration dans le pays ainsi que le potentiel minéral encore inexploité. Quant à la Zambie, le pays vise une production de 3 millions de tonnes d’ici 2031, contre environ 700 000 tonnes en 2023.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/cuivre/060 ... qu-en-2025

[energy_isere]

First Quantum to invest $3.5 billion in Taca Taca copper project in Argentina — report

Staff Writer | September 6, 2024

First Quantum Minerals has met with Argentina’s government authorities about the start of construction of the $3.5 billion Taca Taca copper project, Rumbo Minero International reported.


According to the news outlet, representatives of the Canadian miner met with Argentine officials and announced that they will begin construction of the project, located 230 km west of the city of Salta.

The announcement was made during Argentina Mining 2024, an international mining sector event held in the province of Salta.

Taca Taca is a copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry deposit with significant potential and is at an advanced exploration stage.

As of 2013, the project’s measured and indicated resources were reported at 9.6 million tonnes of contained copper, plus inferred resources of 3.4 million tonnes. First Quantum acquired 100% of Taca Taca from Lumina Copper Corporation in 2014 through its subsidiary, Corriente Argentina SA (CASA).

The project is expected to create a large number of direct and indirect jobs, boosting the socio-economic growth of the province.

Speaking to Rumbo Minero, general manager John Dean said construction is scheduled to begin in 2025.

According to the report, the Salta government signed an agreement stipulating that the Argentine Geological and Mining Service will provide scientific and technical assistance in evaluating the environmental and social impact study of the project, as well as participate in subsequent activities such as oversight and monitoring.

https://www.mining.com/first-quantum-to ... na-report/



https://www.mining-technology.com/news/ ... argentina/

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suite de ce post du 4 aout 2024 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 0#p2395950

Harmony targets first copper from Australia mine by 2028

Reuters | September 5, 2024

South Africa’s Harmony Gold expects to start producing copper from its Australian mining project by 2028, the company said on Thursday, as it diversifies into the key decarbonization metal.


Harmony acquired the Eva copper project in Queensland in 2022 to diversify away from gold and is in the process of updating the project’s feasibility study.

“We want to make the final investment decision by the end of the (financial) year. It’s a two year build, then Eva Copper will be in production,” Harmony CEO Peter Steenkamp told Reuters in an interview.

The mine is expected to produce up to 60,000 metric tons of copper annually, he said.

Early work, including building access roads, has started at the project, reflecting Harmony’s confidence it will go ahead, he added.

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https://www.mining.com/web/harmony-targ ... e-by-2028/

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suite de ce post du 26 mai 2024 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 0#p2391630

First Quantum expects feasibility studies for Peru mine by 2028

Reuters | September 12, 2024

Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals expects updated drilling results for its Peru copper project La Granja in the second half of next year, and feasibility studies by 2028, project development manager Steven Lewis said on Thursday.


“The drilling is progressing well, it’s at 35%, and we expect to have the results in the second half of next year,” Lewis said on the sidelines of a mining industry conference.

Sign Up for the Copper Digest


About the feasibility studies slated for completion by 2028, he said: “We’re working to meet this deadline.”

First Quantum last year purchased a 55% stake in the project, which is co-owned with Rio Tinto, and at the time of the acquisition committed to investing up to $546 million for its development.

The project overall is estimated to amount to $2.4 billion investment.

According to data from Peru’s mining ministry, the site has the potential to produce 500,000 metric tons of copper a year, with a useful life of 40 years.

In addition to completing drilling and feasibility studies, First Quantum will also face challenges related to local communities, environmental permits and financing, Lewis said. “La Granja has the potential to be a larger project, but the ultimate focus will depend on several challenges,” Lewis said in a presentation at the mining event.

First Quantum took a major blow last year after the Panama government ordered the shutdown of the Cobre Panama mine, which contributed to 40% of the miner’s revenue, due to public protests over environmental issues.

https://www.mining.com/web/first-quantu ... next-year/

[energy_isere]

Projet de reouverture d'une mine de Cuivre au Québec qui avait fermé en 1999.

Osisko Metals seeks financing partner on huge Gaspé copper project in Quebec

Blair McBride - The Northern Miner | September 19, 2024


Osisko Metals’ Gaspé copper project on the Gaspé peninsula in Quebec. Credit: Refined Substance

Osisko Metals (TSXV: OM) is advancing the giant Gaspé copper project in Quebec with an economic study planned for February amid efforts to land a 20% partnership with provincial financing agency Investissement Québec.

“No promises, but they’re interested in the project, and for us it would be ideal to get IQ as a partner,” CEO and chairman Robert Wares said in an interview. “That would be a big boost, and as partners obviously they can help us fund the whole project to a final investment decision.”

Wares figures that reopening the former Noranda mine, about 575 km northeast of Quebec City, could see it become the biggest undeveloped copper asset east of the Mississippi. It could cost C$1.8 billion in initial capital spending, he said. The Copper Mountain deposit at the site holds 495 million indicated tonnes grading 0.3% copper, 0.016% molybdenum and 1.75 grams silver per tonne, Osisko said on May 6.

The resource contains 3.2 billion lb. copper, 180 million lb. molybdenum and 27.9 million oz. silver. It could be shovel-ready in early 2029 after acquiring permits by the end of 2028, said the CEO, who was part of the developers of the Canadian Malartic gold mine. That producer, now held by Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM), is vying to be Canada’s largest.

Wares is bullish on rising copper demand and the lack of adequate new supply to feed global electrification efforts. Developing a project in a jurisdiction with straightforward permitting requirements is also a plus.

“In four years-time, we fully expect the copper price to be extremely healthy,” he said. “The tier one deposits outside of Africa that are going into production, you can count on one hand.”

Partners required

Private equity also could be an option for Gaspé as Wares says developing mining projects these days requires partners. He cited how Osisko Mining (TSX: OSK) — another company founded by the Canadian Malartic team — brought in Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI; JSE: GFI) to advance Windfall.

Then last month the South African major took out the whole company for $1.6 billion. Wares is keen to avoid share dilution from stock offerings or taking on debt that might want the whole project as collateral.

“I’m hoping IQ would step in at 20-25%. They rarely go more than that,” Wares said. “It would allow us to avoid more equity financings in the dismal market, still, for the resource sector.”

The company has completed around half of 8,000 metres of drilling this year, with assays pending. Background studies for the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) due early next year are advancing, the CEO said.

...............................

At Gaspé, Noranda produced 150 million tonnes of copper concentrate from 1955 until the mine closed in 1999. The area has been hard hit since the closure, with a large sawmill also shutting, then a federal moratorium on cod fishing followed this year by one on shrimp, Wares noted.

Sentiment for the Gaspé project is improving after some initial opposition about potential noise pollution and dust. Members of the community, area mayors and the provincial legislature representative attended the company’s annual information session in the local town of Murdochville this month, Wares said.

“This is the true mining town. They all want to see the mine reopened. Murdochville has obviously been in economic decline since the mine and smelter closed in 2003 so things can’t remain as they are. Like most mining towns, they eventually just follow the decline and turn into ghost towns so this is a great way to revamp it.”

https://www.mining.com/osisko-metals-se ... in-quebec/

[energy_isere]

BHP warns AI boom would worsen copper shortage

Cecilia Jamasmie | September 17, 2024

BHP, the world’s largest miner, has sounded alarm bells on the growing global adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in all fields, not out of fear for the future of humanity, but as the technology requires more energy-intensive computing, which would boost global copper demand.


The growth of data centres and AI solutions could boost global copper demand by 3.4 million tonnes a year by 2050, BHP’s chief financial officer Vandita Pant said this week.

“Today, data centres are less than 1% of copper demand, but that is expected to be 6% to 7% by 2050,” she told the Financial Times. “There is a lot of copper in data centres.”

BMO Capital Markets commodities analyst Colin Hamilton says that data centres themselves are becoming incrementally less copper intensive. “But getting the electricity to them, that is copper intensive,” he warns.

BHP expects global copper demand to rise to 52.5 million tonnes per year by 2050, up from 30.4 million tonnes in 2021—a 72% increase.

The long-predicted copper shortage has sparked a race to secure access to the metal, highlighted by BHP’s buy of Oz Minerals, its largest acquisition in a decade and its failed $49 billion bid for smaller rival Anglo American (LON: AAL) in May.

........................

New mines are not being developed quickly enough to offset the increasing need for copper— it typically takes 15 years to bring a project into production.

https://www.mining.com/bhp-warns-ai-boo ... -shortage/

[energy_isere]

Antofagasta to invest $3.5bn in bid to become top ten copper producer

Regan Slaymaker Tue, September 17, 2024

Chilean mining company Antofagasta has plans to invest nearly $3.5bn in rapid portfolio expansion to become one of the top ten copper producers in the world.

The investment will begin in 2025, representing one of the largest contributions the company has made to expand its operations. The majority of the $3.5bn will be spent on operations in Chile and Peru.

Iván Arriagada, chief executive of Antofagasta, told Diario Financiero on Monday (16 September) that the company was actively looking for copper projects in Peru with a minimum capacity of 50,000 tonnes for ten years or more.

Arriagada explained the company is expected to increase total investments from $2.13bn in 2023 to $2.7bn in 2024.

Antofagasta projects local investments of over $7.5bn over the next five years. The company is already working on developing its Nueva Centinela project in Chile that will cost $4.4bn.

The Nueva Centinela project is expected to increase Antofagasta’s overall production of copper equivalent by 144,000 tonnes per year.

Antofagasta approved expansion of the Centinela mine in December 2023, as well as the continued development of the Esperanza Sur pit and the deployment of autonomous vehicles at its sites.

The company also plans to open a desalination plant for its Los Pelambras mine.

On top of its industry expansion plans, Antofagasta aims to invest $40-$50m a year on maintenance of its projects in Peru, the US and Canada.

In 2023, Antofagasta acquired a 19% stake in the Minera Buenaventura mine in Peru.

The company’s projects in the US, however, have suffered a significant setback after the Biden Administration cancelled two long-standing mineral leases for Antofagasta’s subsidiary Twin Metals. The Administration also imposed a 20-year mining moratorium on the surrounding area in northeast Minnesota.

Antofagasta is the second largest mining company in Chile after Codelco, which is owned by the Chilean Government.

According to Mining Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, Chile produced 5240.4 thousand tonnes of copper in 2023, the highest amount globally.

"Antofagasta to invest $3.5bn in bid to become top ten copper producer " was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/antofaga ... 22691.html

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suite de ce post du 18 aout 2024 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 7#p2396707

Ivanhoe Electric On-Track to Deliver Santa Cruz Copper Project Preliminary Feasibility Study in Q2 2025

Mon, September 16, 2024

Ivanhoe Electric Will Use the Preliminary Feasibility Study to Pursue Long-term Project Financing

Metallurgical Results from Ongoing Testwork Show High Copper Recoveries and Recoverable Precious Metals

Santa Cruz Copper Project Received General Plan Amendment Approval from the City of Casa Grande and is Preparing Key Permit Applications for Submittal in H1 2025

Recent Infill Drilling Intersects High-Grade Copper Mineralization at the Santa Cruz Deposit, Including 99 Meters Grading 2.39% Copper



Plan view map showing completed drill holes with received and pending assays and the location of infill drill holes from this release.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ivanhoe- ... 00659.html

[energy_isere]

Les australiens BHP et Cobre investissent dans le cuivre au Botswana

Agence Ecofin 24 sept 2024

Une industrie cuprifère émerge au Botswana, avec l’entrée en production de deux mines de cuivre entre 2021 et 2023. Alors que le métal rouge est indispensable à la transition énergétique, les investisseurs intéressés par le potentiel du pays participent à la diversification du secteur minier local.

La junior minière australienne Cobre a annoncé le 23 septembre la signature d’une lettre d’intention avec BHP en vue de négocier exclusivement un accord de coentreprise sur les projets de cuivre Kitlanya West et East. Cette transaction marque l’intérêt croissant des investisseurs miniers pour le potentiel cuprifère du premier producteur africain de diamants.

L’accord avec BHP permettra de financer entièrement les travaux d’exploration sur les projets concernés. Aucun détail n’a été fourni sur la durée de la période d’exclusivité ni sur le montant de l’investissement des deux sociétés.

En cas de succès dans leurs travaux, BHP et Cobre devraient participer à l’émergence d’une industrie cuprifère au Botswana ces dernières années. Entre 2021 et 2023, les mines Khoemacau et Motheo sont entrées en production dans le pays, avec une capacité de production annuelle combinée de plus de 100 000 tonnes de concentré de cuivre.

Le développement de cette industrie s’inscrit dans les efforts de diversification du secteur minier botswanais, dominé actuellement par l’exploitation des diamants. Les pierres précieuses représentent 30 % du PIB et des revenus fiscaux, ainsi que 80 % des exportations. Un couteau à double tranchant pour le pays, car les fluctuations sur le marché mondial des diamants affectent directement l’économie nationale.

« Le Botswana est confronté à un grave ralentissement dû à la contraction du marché du diamant en 2023 et 2024. La croissance devrait tomber à 1,0 % cette année, contre 2,7 % en 2023 et 5,5 % en 2022. Cette situation reflète la baisse de la demande mondiale de diamants et une forte augmentation des stocks », a expliqué début septembre le FMI, à la fin d’une mission dans le pays.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/cuivre/240 ... u-botswana

[energy_isere]

L' Indonésie met en route deux usines de raffinage de cuivre dans le pays.

Indonesia boosts mining sector with launch of two copper smelters
PT Amman Mineral's smelter can process 900,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of copper concentrate.

September 24, 2024

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has launched two large copper smelters to enhance the nation’s position in the global mining market.

One of the smelters is owned by PT Amman Mineral International.

This $1.4bn (Rp21.26trn) copper smelter and precious metal refinery is located in West Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province.

The facility is equipped to process 900,000tpa of copper concentrate.

PT Amman Mineral’s smelter features advanced double flash cyclone technology to produce copper cathode as its main product.

This facility is expected to produce 18 tonnes (t) of gold, 220,000t of copper cathodes, 55t of silver and 850,000t of sulphuric acid as a by-product each year.

The second smelter is owned by PT Freeport and located in the Gresik Special Economic Zone (KEK) JIIPE, Gresik Regency, East Java Province.

Entailing an investment of Rp56trn, this smelter is designed to process 1.7 million tonnes of copper concentrate sourced from Papua and will produce copper cathode.

Widodo highlighted the importance of enhancing the downstream industry to achieve Indonesia’s goal of becoming a developed, industrialised nation with self-sufficiency in natural resource processing.

These operations are expected to have a considerable positive impact on both the local and national economies, particularly through the increase in the gross regional domestic product of NTB Province and the creation of job opportunities for the community.

Widodo said: “As the owner of the world’s seven largest copper reserves, we have entered a new chapter in the downstreaming of the copper industry, and we want to welcome becoming an advanced industrial country by processing its own natural resources.”

https://www.mining-technology.com/news/ ... r/?cf-view

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suite de ce post du 10 mars 2024 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 3#p2387703

Rio Tinto aims to produce copper from Resolution mine in Arizona by end of decade

Bloomberg News | September 26, 2024


Resolution copper mine in Arizona. (Image courtesy of Rio Tinto).

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) aims to start churning out copper from a long-delayed mining project in Arizona by the end of the decade, according to chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm.

“From a permitting point of view, we are towards the end of the process,” Stausholm said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “We’re talking towards the end of the decade that we can have production.”

Rio’s Resolution mine in Arizona would, if completed, supply more than a quarter of US copper demand for decades. But it’s strongly opposed by Native American groups concerned that the project will destroy a sacred tribal site. The project has faced numerous setbacks, and the permitting process has dragged on for over 12 years.

The Resolution project is owned 55% by Rio and 45% by BHP Group.

https://www.mining.com/web/rio-tinto-ai ... of-decade/

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Un prospect de Cuivre en Azerbaijan avec 0.32 % de cuivre :

Anglo Asian publishes maiden resource for Garadag copper prospect in Azerbaijan

24 Sep 2024

Anglo Asian Mining PLC has published an independent maiden JORC mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Garadag copper deposit in Azerbaijan.

Carried out by Mining Plus UK, the total resource (Indicated and Inferred categories) is approximately 900,000 tonnes of copper metal hosted in 285 million tonnes of mineralisation with average grades of 0.32%.

Of that, 86.9 million tonnes and 304,300 tonnes of copper are within the Indicated JORC category.

Anglo Asian drilled 113 third-party holes totalling 25,620 metres as the basis for the MRE with work ongoing to upgrade the resources and assess mineralisation potential at depth and along strike

Stephen Westhead, Anglo Asian’s exploration VP, commented: "We are pleased to announce that this independent mineral resource estimate completed by Mining Plus confirms the large amount of copper and significant potential of the Garadag deposit, with a total resource of 284.9 million tonnes of mineralisation at 0.32 per cent. copper grades, hosting nearly 900,000 tonnes of copper metal.

“The copper contribution from Garadag will be significant in the delivery of Anglo Asian's strategic growth plan to become a multi-asset, mid-tier primarily copper producer."

https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/co ... 56760.html

[energy_isere]

Barrick lance en Zambie un projet de cuivre à 2 milliards $

Agence Ecofin 03 oct 2024

La Zambie vise une production de 3 millions de tonnes de cuivre en 2031. Pour y arriver, la compagnie compte sur les nouveaux investissements annoncés ces dernières années par les canadiens First Quantum et Barrick Gold, le chinois CNMC ou le groupe Vedanta du milliardaire indien Anil Agarwal.

En Zambie, le président Hakainde Hichilema (photo) a officiellement lancé mercredi 2 octobre le projet d’agrandissement de la mine de cuivre Lumwana. Cet investissement de 2 milliards de dollars annoncé par Barrick Gold soutient les efforts du gouvernement visant à atteindre une production annuelle de 3 millions de tonnes de cuivre en 2031, contre 700 000 tonnes en 2023.

Concrètement, Barrick prévoit de presque doubler le débit de l’usine, de 27 millions de tonnes de minerais par an actuellement à 52 millions de tonnes une fois les travaux achevés. Cela permettra de doubler la production annuelle de cuivre à 240 000 tonnes sur la durée de vie de la mine. Une étude de faisabilité attendue d’ici la fin de l’année fournira davantage de détails sur le projet.



Élu en 2021, le président Hichilema a su apaiser les relations entre les investisseurs miniers et le gouvernement, permettant de débloquer plusieurs milliards de dollars d’investissements dans le cuivre. C’est en effet le manque de nouveaux investissements dans le secteur cuprifère qui a conduit la Zambie à enregistrer une baisse de sa production de cuivre depuis 2021, jusqu’au creux historique enregistré l’année dernière.

L’arrivée de nouveaux acteurs, à l’instar de la société émiratie International Resources Holdings, ainsi que les investissements débloqués par les compagnies déjà présentes, comme les canadiens Barrick et First Quantum, permettent d’espérer une amélioration de la situation. D’ici 2027, la Zambie vise ainsi une hausse de 40 % de la production de cuivre, afin d’atteindre le cap d’un million de tonnes.

Notons que le projet d’agrandissement de la mine Lumwana devrait aussi créer 550 emplois supplémentaires au cours des cinq prochaines années, et 2500 de plus dans le secteur de la construction jusqu’en 2028.

« Nous prévoyons également de construire des infrastructures essentielles, notamment une piste d’atterrissage et un parc de fournisseurs industriels. Cela permettra aux principaux fournisseurs de s’établir dans la région, créant ainsi un pôle économique qui alimentera la croissance et le développement dans l’ensemble de la région », a ajouté Mark Bristow, PDG de Barrick.

Pour atteindre ces différents objectifs, les autorités doivent néanmoins veiller à un climat des affaires propice à la poursuite des investissements annoncés. Ces dernières semaines, la Chambre des Mines s’est inquiétée de différentes réformes prévues par les autorités et qui risquent de « réduire à néant tout le travail accompli depuis 2021 ». Pour le moment, les deux parties privilégient la voie de la discussion en vue de trouver un terrain d’entente.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/cuivre/031 ... -milliards