The total copper production direction for the first Quarter of 2023 has been droped to between 199, 982 from 239, 603 tonnes recorded within the same period in 2022.
At average international copper prices of over USD$8, 300, Zambia has lost about $330 million in copper exports.
Zambia’s copper production figures have continued to decline with the country recording around 15 percent drop for the first quarter of 2023 when compared to the same period last year.
Total copper production for the first quarter in 2023 was 199, 982 tonnes, a 15% decrease from Q1 2022.
According the ministry of Mines and Minerals Development MMMD, the country recorded a total production of 199, 982 tonnes of copper in the first quarter of 2023 down from 230, 603 produced last year during the same period under review, designating a crash of a total of 30, 621 tons of copper.
Experts who spoke to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, have attributed this continued decline in copper production figures to a lack of turnaround at distressed asserts such as KCM and Mopani and delayed capital expenditure into the sector.
Zambia also recorded declined annual copper production in 2022 with figures dropping to a total of 760, 000 from 800,696 tons from the year the new dawn took over office with a target to 1.3 million tons of copper productions in 2022 alone and up to 3 million tonnes annually by 2031.