By Derrick Silimina
Government has officially commissioned First Quantum Minerals’ new Enterprise nickel mine concentrator in Kalumbila district of North-Western Province.
Designed to process four million tonnes of ore and produce around 32,000 tonnes of nickel per year, Enterprise will provide an estimated 700 permanent jobs and diversify the nation’s minerals and metals output, making Zambia the largest nickel producer on the continent and the 10th largest producer in the world of the highly sought-after mineral.
Speaking when he commissioned the mine’s new concentrator in Kalumbila district on Friday, Mines and Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe said barely two years in government, the good policies of President Hakainde Hichilema have begun to bear fruit.
“It is gratifying to be part of this achievement as this marks the new dawn not just of the country’s mining sector but the Zambian economy as a whole. We are barely two years in government this month and already the good policies of President Hakainde Hichilema have begun to bear fruit,” Kabuswe said.
He noted that the new dawn government promised to tinker with the mining policy, the fiscal regime and make the environment suitable for investment to thrive adding that the project was packed as the policies that were there then couldn’t support its actualization.
The mines minister said the government appreciates the move by FQM to fire up the concentrator as it demonstrates the company’s commitment to work with the Zambian government in advancing the mining sector in the country.
The first off-take comes a year after President Hakainde Hichilema commissioned the mine, launching Zambia’s journey to becoming a key player in the new global electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem. Once in full production, the Enterprise mine will be the largest producer of the strategic metal in Africa. Nickel, like lithium, cobalt, and copper, is an essential component in the batteries required for the new era of ‘green’ vehicles.
