Zambia's copper output expected to increase above last year's

A truck travels to a depth of 516 metres below the surface to collect ore at the Chibuluma copper mine in the Zambian copperbelt region. [Photo: Reuters]

LUSAKA - Zambia’s 2018 copper production is projected to rise above the 800,000 tonnes produced last year, its Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe said in a statement on Monday.

Copper output in 2018 continued to increase with a total of 696,526 tonnes produced between January and October, compared with 654,743 tonnes in the same period in 2017, Mwanakatwe said.

“The fairly high global copper prices which averaged $6,598 (per tonne) and demand provided the impetus for copper production,” Mwanakatwe said.