A dimming copper dream suddenly burns bright

Better days: BCL Mine’s smelter will likely be sold off piecemeal
Better days: BCL Mine’s smelter will likely be sold off piecemeal

As local copper production bounces back from the meltdown in 2016, the new players have been reluctant to venture into the smelting activities made famous by BCL Mine’s chimney fumes. However, a study due by December could produce a refinery, a value-added step beyond smelting, reports Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI

Since the base metal meltdown of 2016, when a commodity price rout crashed operations at BCL Ltd, Discovery Metals and African Copper, the local copper sector has slowly and painfully pulled itself back up from the collapse.

As prices have picked up since, players such as Khoemacau Copper Mining and Premium Nickel Resources Botswana, located on the Kalahari Copperbelt and at the former BCL respectively, have led the base metal sector’s revival and are presently the most advanced projects.

Editor's Comment
Routine child vaccination imperative

The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...

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