KITWE, Zambia - Non-Ferrous China Africa (NFCA) of China Non- Ferrous Metals Mining Corporation (CNMC) on Saturday commenced production of its 1 million ton Chambishi Copper Mine West Orebody project.

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Zambian President Rupiah Banda officiated the commissioning ceremony and commended the owners of the project for having progressed as scheduled and worked tirelessly during the past three years to make this a reality.

"The expansion of mining by Chinese investors is uplifting the lives of the people by creating jobs, reviving economic prospects in this district," said the Zambian president.

According to NFCA General Manager Wang Chunlai, the total reserves of the West Orebody are estimated at 45 million tons with a copper grade of 2.25 percent.

The expected copper ore annual output is 1 million tons with service life estimated at 25 years. The project will provide 1,500 new job opportunities to the local people.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, CNMC General Manager Luo Tao said the company has over the years invested more than $1.4 billion in Zambia and will, during the next three years, further invest $1 billion in the Zambian-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (ZCCZ), Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited and other projects.

This will not only bring CNMC's investment in Zambia to more than $2.5 billion, but also provide 20,000 employment opportunities to the Zambian community by 2013, said the CNMC chief.

On the same occasion, Banda, together with Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Qiangmin, unveiled the plaque of the Demonstration Base of Biohydrometallurgy Technology in Zambia.

Located in Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited, the CNMC-China Central University (CSU) joint project aims to increase copper recovery by 20 percent.

CNMC acquired 85 percent of shares of Chambishi Copper Mine through an open bid in 1998. Equipped with technological innovation, Chambishi Copper Mine was reopened in 2003 after 13 years of closure and currently produces about 24,000 tons of copper per annum.

CNMC is China's top nonferrous metal company that has the largest investment in overseas mining assets. It currently has 20 million metric tons of heavy nonferrous metals and 300 million tons of bauxite overseas.

Zambia is the biggest copper producer in Africa and is expecting to reach 1 million tons of annual copper output by 2012.