Congo Targeting 1.5 Million Tons of Copper Output in 2015 - Gecamines
02/06/2013| 04:15am US/Eastern
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By Alex MacDonald
CAPE TOWN--Copper miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo are forecast to produce 1.5 million tons of copper in 2015, up from about 600,000 tons in 2012, the chief executive of state-owned miner Gecamines said Wednesday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Indaba mining conference, Ahmed Kalej Nkand also told Dow Jones Newswires that Gecamines produced 35,000 tons of copper in 2012, in line with its previous guidance.
However, the copper output target can only be reached if more investments are made in energy and transport infrastructure, said a senior executive from Tenke Fungurume Mining Ltd., a joint venture between Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (>> Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.), Lundin Mining Ltd (LUN.T) and Gecamines, at a DRC meeting on Wednesday.
"To triple the country's [output target]....the infrastructure backbone requires significant investment," he said.
He noted that TFM is refurbishing a 265 megawatt hydro power generation plant and plans to spend $420 million to refurbish the plant and associated infrastructure.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
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