-

73.1% Glencore www.glencore.com
16.9% First Quantum www.first-quantum.com
10% ZCCM www.zccm-ih.com.zm  

Mufulira Copper Smelter

12° 31' 59" S, 28° 13' 56" E

Copper
Isasmelt and P-S Converters

Copper
Isasmelt and P-S Converters

Reported cost of acid plant: US$27 million

www.grinaker-lta.com - MCM recognised that the recent increase in copper mining activities in the Zambian Copperbelt and potentially in the DRC as well presented an opportunity to process an increased quantity of copper concentrates.  With surplus capacity in the Mufulira refinery and the existing requirement to replace the current electric furnace, MCM approved a project to expand the capacity at Mufulira. This will involve the installation of a new primary smelting furnace utilising Top Submerged Lance (TSL) technology together with a purpose built matte settling furnace, a sulphuric acid plant, an oxygen plant to provide the oxygen requirements to the TSL furnace and the associated infrastructure.   Grinaker-LTA Process Engineering was awarded the contract for the supply of the sulphuric acid plant on an EPC basis, while a joint venture comprising Grinaker-LTA Process Engineering and SNC-Lavalin was awarded the contract to execute the engineering, procurement and construction management of the overall project.

January 15, 2012 - Glencore is facing legal action over pollution caused by its vast and lucrative copper operations in Zambia.  Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mines subsidiary has been a thorn in the firm’s side since its £6billion float in May last year, throwing up allegations of environmental recklessness and tax avoidance, which the company denies.  The Swiss-based firm could find itself dragged through the courts after Zambian campaign group the Centre for Trade Policy and Development demanded the company explain itself or face a lawsuit.  In a letter obtained by the Daily Mail, lawyers for CTPD claim that the ‘leaching’ process used in copper production is causing sulphuric acid to leak into water used by communities living and working near the mine.  CTPD cites two incidents in 2008 and 2011 when residents reported ill effects due to suspected acid in drinking water. The letter warns that Glencore’s ‘mining methods are not consistent with the right to a safe and healthy environment and likely to threaten that right’.  A further complaint relates to the high level of sulphur in the air, which CTPD says has caused respiratory and skin problems.  The Mail witnessed the choking, foul - smelling clouds during a recent visit to the Zambian copperbelt.  CTPD said it would launch legal action in Zambia – or even in London – unless its demands are met. The group wants Mopani to discontinue mining methods that contaminate or pollute the air and submit the mining to an ‘environmental audit’.  It has also asked Mopani to compensate for harm to health and the environment.  Glencore has previously insisted that it is not responsible for the provision of water in the area and points to its use of water testing.  It also says that to close the copper smelter would put thousands out of work.

November 23, 2011 - Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines owned by Glencore International Plc expects to complete work to capture sulphur dioxide emissions at its Mufulira smelter by 2013, it said on Wednesday.  "This is 18 months ahead of the Zambian government's target of 2015," Mopani said in a statement.  On completion of the final phase of the project, around 97 percent of all sulphur dioxide emissions at Mufulira would be captured, it said.  The final phase of the work, already underway, is to install gas capturing equipment and a second acid plant to recycle captured sulphur dioxide as sulphuric acid, the company said.  The new equipment is being installed as each phase of the plant is completed and this has enabled operations to continue without any shutdown, Mopani said.

July 19, 2011 - Zambia's second largest copper and cobalt miner, Mopani Copper Mines, is to start upgrading its ageing Mufulira copper smelter this month following the importation of machinery required for the project, company officials said Tuesday.  A $26 million converter, meant for upgrades to enable the smelter to reduce sulfur emissions, arrived in Zambia over the weekend and its installation is expected to commence next week, a company official told Dow Jones Newswires by telephone from the Copperbelt province.   Mopani, a unit of commodity trader Glencore International PLC (GLEN.LN), is installing the new converter as part of its goal to reduce sulfur emissions by 97% in the next four years. The installation is expected to be completed in December. Mopani is also set to install an acid plant at the smelter.  "The arrival of the converter will allow us to proceed with major infrastructure developments which will reduce sulfur emissions at the Mufulira smelter," Mopani Chief Executive Emmanuel Mutati said in a statement.  Mufulira treats concentrates from Mopani Copper Mines units as well as from First Quantum Minerals Ltd.'s (FM.T) Kansanshi Copper Mines in Zambia's North Western province. First Quantum owns a minority stake in Mopani.  Earlier this year Mopani said that it would invest at least $295 million in a new mine shaft at its Nkana division which will extend the lifespan of the mine by 25 years.  Currently, Mopani has the capacity to produce 200,000 tons of copper a year.  Zambia, Africa's largest copper miner by output, is facing a looming shortage of copper treatment facilities as production increases.

June 24, 2011 - Glencore AG International, a Swiss based global leading commodity trader secured USD 26 million for installation of its first convertor to offset the emission of sculpture dioxide fumes into the atmosphere at one of its operations in Zambia.  The convertor shell equipment which has arrived in Zambia and procured by Glencore AG from Richards Bay in South Africa is destined for Mufulira mine in northern Zambia’s copperbelt region, a unit of Mopani Copper Mine and is expected to take 25 days to arrive.   In a statement by company spokesperson, transportation of the 132 tonne converter will take approximately 25 days at a cost of around USD 3m and will take about six months to install and the miner expects it to be fully commissioned by December 2011.  Other accessories include a Water Cooled Hood and an Off Gas System to facilitate the capture of dust free gas. This process will be assisted subsequently by a second new dedicated gas cooling, cleaning and acid plant which will be operational by April 2015.  The USD 26 million converters was manufactured by Mukand Limited of Thane, Maharashtra state, India while the Water Cooled Hood and Off Gas System have been designed, and are being supplied, by the Swedish firm Outotec. Additional engineering work has been carried out by Worley Parsons.  Before Mopani was privatized in 2000, no sulphur was captured. Sulphur capture now stands at about 50% and Mopani’s emissions reduction program will be completed by 2015 when 97% of all sulphur will be captured.  Earlier Mr Emmanuel Mutati CEO of Mopani Copper Mine said that more than USD 290 million was expected to be invested in the emission-capturing program and make the company environmentally compliant. In reference to the recent action by one of its key lenders, European Investment Fund over failure on tax compliance the action to withhold funding to Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia will not affect its operations.  While the lender had every right to withhold funding on unverified reports of under valuing tax remittance to Zambia Revenue Authority and poor records of copper receipts, the company would still operate normally while allowing the banker to carry out its own investigations into the matter, described as flawed and incorrect. We will not be affected at all, our operations will remain normal despite that action.  According to data, despite the action by EIB, Mopani, through its parent company plans to invest an initial USD 250 million in mitigating atmospheric pollution with sulphur dioxide and general environmental cleanliness with an additional USD 60 million expected to be ploughed in to the project later.  An additional investment earmarked for the mine is a new shaft complex at a cost in excess of US$300 million securing the long term future of the operations, this at a time when the private investors are yet to draw a cent of dividends. Recently the EIB slapped a blanket ban on funding of all projects to Mopani copper mine through its parent company Glencore AG for alleged tax evasion and under declaration of copper production in Zambia.  The EIhad provided Mopani with USD 50 million loan in 2005 to help fund renovation of the Mufulira copper smelter. The loan is due to be fully repaid by the end of 2016. The USD 50 million loan is the only one given to a Glencore entity and was used to partially fund the first phase of the renovation and modernization of the copper smelter at Mufulira mine in northern Zambia to reduce the emissions of sulphur dioxide.  According to the EIB, total project costs were USD 130 million with the remaining USD 80 million financed from Glencore's own funds. In 2005, the European Investment Bank signed a finance contract with Mopani Copper Mines, a subsidiary of Glencore, for the amount of USD 50 million to partially fund the first phase of the renovation and modernization of the Mufulira copper smelter, with the aim of reducing the emissions of sulphur dioxide.  A further and final reduction of SO₂ and dust emissions was planned for latest 2015, when Mopani Copper Mines would have completed the construction of the second acid plant without co-financing by the lender with a view that the efforts would render the smelter compliant with local and World Bank emission regulations.  The Mufulira smelter was first built in 1937. Prior to privatization in 2000, 100 percent of all SO2 went into the atmosphere. So far the situation has improved since, including notably through the investment financed by EIB's loan to Mopani copper mine for modernization of the copper smelter.  The lender said that the project has successfully established the capacity to eliminate 250,000 tonnes of SO2 a year, materially contributing to the protection of the environment.

December 23, 2010 - One of Zambia's mining firms said that it has managed to reduce its sulphur-dioxide emissions by 55% to mitigate the environmental degradation in some residential areas near the mine, the Zambia Daily Mail reported that mining companies in the southern African nation's Copperbelt province have been accused of polluting the surrounding areas, including rivers due to their poor environment management practices.  Last month, a local court fined one of the mining firms after it was found guilty of discharging toxics into a river which was a source of water supply for locals.  Some environmental activists were concerned about the high levels of sulphur dioxide emissions in some townships of Mufulira district from the mining firms.  But environment watchdog, the Environmental Council of Zambia said that Mopani Copper Mines had managed to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by 55% from 100% it used to emit into the air.  ECZ northern region manager Patson Zulu was quoted as saying that "The discharge of sulphur dioxide emission into the atmosphere by MCM in Mufulira has reduced by 55%. The mining company has installed an acid plant which is able to capture 55 percent of the gas. This is an achievement in terms of mitigating environmental degradation.”  According to investigations, the townships near the mine had not vegetation because the soil contains high levels of sulphur dioxide while houses had cracks due to mining activities.  Zambia was Africa's top copper producer and the mining industry was responsible for 70% of the country's foreign exchange earnings.  The Zambian government has told the mining firms to play an active law to protect the environment by putting in place effective management policies. Foreign mining companies operating in Zambia include London listed Vedanta Resources Plc, Equinox Minerals, Glencore International AG of Switzerland and Metorex of South Africa, Non-Ferrous Metals of China.