Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines, majority owned by Swiss commodities trader Glencore International AG, has reversed a decision to halt operations due to a cost savings plan and higher copper prices.
The Zambian government had asked Glencore to surrender the Nkana and Mufulira mines after it announced plans to temporarily close the loss-making operations after copper prices collapsed.
But Mopani, also partly owned by the government, said in a statement released overnight that agreement had been reached by its shareholders to keep the mines open.
"Following a detailed review of its mining, processing and administrative operations, Mopani expects to achieve a significant cost reduction," it said.
"This together with a slightly improved copper price environment has enabled Mopani to make the decision to continue with its mining operations rather than place the shafts on care and maintenance."
Mopani is 73 percent owned by Glencore, 17 percent by First Quantum Minerals Ltd and 10 percent by the Zambian government.
Mopani has a production capacity of 255,000 tonnes of copper metal and 2,000 tonnes of cobalt, according to Glencore's website.
Source: Reuters
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