Barrick Gold Corp. ABX-T says it will spend almost US$2-billion on an expansion project at its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia.
The miner says the expansion project is designed to increase Lumwana’s annual production to an estimated 240,000 tonnes of copper from a 50-million-tonne-per-annum process plant over a 36-year life of mine.
Barrick took over operations at Lumwana in 2019.
An accelerated work program is targeting completion of a full feasibility study by the end of 2024, Barrick says, bringing expected expanded process plant production forward to 2028.
Lumwana produced 267 million pounds of copper in 2022.
Barrick chief executive Mark Bristow said the mine was on track to deliver on its production guidance for 2023.