Copper prices bring good tidings for BCL, African Copper

Over the years, the price of copper has played havoc with mines' books, at one point weighing down BCL Mine and forcing the Selebi-Phikwe- based mine to rely on external funding of its operations. Prior to the global financial crisis, copper had been on a rally, enabling BCL Mine to ease its debt burden, while simultaneously driving the development of African Copper's Mowana Mine and Discovery Metals' Boseto Copper Project.

With the onset of global credit crunch late last year, and the resultant drop in demand for most minerals, including copper, the metal's value plunged by an estimated 60 percent by February 2009, forcing the collapse of the newly commissioned Mowana Mine, which found itself unable to sustain its operations or source further operating capital.