(Phoenix News)-Zambia’s annual copper production for 2022 is set to end in another deficit after production figures at the end of November showed a 4.49 percent reduction when compared to the same period in 2021, with barely a month worth of production for end-year figures to be computed.
Data obtained from the Zambia Chamber of Mines indicates that the country produced a total of 694,250 tons of copper at the end of November 2022 compared to a total of 726, 891 in 2021 signifying a 4.49 percent reduction in the overall copper output in the period under review.
This reduction is consistent with the recent trajectory of the country’s copper production after the 2021 full-year production fell by 4.5 percent to 800, 696 tons from 837, 996 tons in 2020.
This leaves over 73, 800 tons of copper to have been produced in December 2022 to reach 2021 full year production figures while the country has on average produced just over 66,000 per month over the 11 months under review.
And Chamber of Mines Chief Executive Officer Sokwani Chilembo has attributed the continued decline in copper production to the difficult operating circumstances and business challenges.
