Mining companies entering the Zambian Copperbelt have had to cope with decades of underinvestment in infrastructure.  In the past year, electricity supply has become the key threat to production following domestic and regional power shortages.  This article discusses the current power situation in the Zambian Copperbelt and the initiatives underway to expand generating capacity.

Cement copper – A brief overview  

Cementation is one of the oldest processes used in extractive metallurgy and was used for the recovery of copper from leach solutions until the advent of solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW).  Production of cement copper has been on the decline since the 1970s/early 1980s.  Output from copper mines and electrolytic zinc plants is currently estimated at 80,000-85,000t/y of contained Cu, equivalent to below 1% of 2007 world copper mine production.  A further 260,000t/y Cu is generated from mainly copper smelter scrap.  This article reviews the technology, market, production, producers and future of this little known sector of the copper industry.