New facility is expected to add 70,000 tonnes of annual copper-processing capacity as Konkola Copper Mines expands operations
Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources is planning a new copper smelter in Zambia that is expected to become the largest of its kind in Africa, as the company expands its operations at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).
KCM said the proposed facility will add around 70,000 tonnes of annual smelting capacity. The engineering work has been awarded to Chinese engineering group NERIN, although the contract has not yet taken effect and remains subject to conditions including an advance payment. The company has not disclosed the project’s cost or completion date.
Vedanta Resources owns 79.4% of KCM through CopperTech Metals, while Zambia’s state-owned mining investment company, ZCCM Investments Holdings, owns the remaining 20.6%
The announcement comes as KCM restores production at its existing Nchanga smelter in Chingola, in Zambia’s Copperbelt province. The plant produced its first anode on September 21 following a 106-day shutdown for refurbishment. The stoppage lasted longer than the 60-day period originally announced by the company.
Vedanta regained control of KCM in 2024 after a five-year dispute with the Zambian government, which had placed the mining company under provisional liquidation in 2019. Under the settlement, Vedanta agreed to invest more than $1.2 billion over five years in upgrading the operation and settling outstanding obligations. The company has since invested more than $400 million, according to the report.
KCM holds an estimated 16 million tonnes of contained copper, with the company targeting annual production of 300,000 tonnes of copper and 6,000 tonnes of cobalt. CopperTech has also outlined a longer-term ambition of reaching 500,000 tonnes of copper production.
The expansion comes as Zambia seeks to increase national copper production to three million tonnes within a decade. President Hakainde Hichilema has also urged Vedanta to accelerate plans for dedicated power generation for the mine, amid electricity constraints affecting the country’s mining sector.
