Reports from Zambia suggest that Chambishi Metals PLC could reopen its copper and cobalt smelter following the lifting of a copper concentrates export ban by Congo's Katanga province.
The state-owned Daily Mail of Zambia quoted Chief Executive Officer Derek Webbstock as saying the smelter is likely to reopen and create more than 1,000 jobs.
The smelter closed in December citing low global metal prices although it had previously been treating concentrates from the Baluba and Nkana mines in Zambia. According to Mr Webbstock, the company is currently in talks with copper concentrate suppliers in Zambia and Congo.
According to an official at Zambia's Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development treating imported concentrates would be a cheaper and more efficient option for the closed smelter which has the capacity to treat up to 40,000 metric tons of copper a year and 4,000 tons of cobalt. Before its closure it was Zambia's leading cobalt producer.
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