Metso has secured a contract worth around €70m from Barrick Gold for the supply of copper concentrator plant equipment to the latter’s Lumwana copper expansion project in Zambia.
The Finnish industrial machinery company booked the contract in the Q3 2024 order intake of its minerals segment. The contract involves the delivery of major equipment for grinding, flotation, thickening, feeding and filtration.
Metso deputy CEO and minerals business area president Markku Teräsvasara said: “We are honoured to have been selected by Barrick as the strategic partner for this project.
“The copper concentrate production process in Lumwana has been designed with sustainability and production efficiency in mind, with most of the equipment selected from our Planet Positive offering.”
The Lumwana copper mine is located in the North-Western Province, approximately 100km west of Solwezi. Following its expansion, the mine is projected to have an annual production of around 240,000 tonnes.
The conventional open pit truck and shovel operation is expected to have a mine life of over 30 years.
Barrick Gold has estimated a project cost of approximately $2bn for the Lumwana copper mine expansion. Construction for this expansion project is scheduled to commence towards the end of this year.
The gold mining major took over operations at the copper mine in 2019. Since then, the Lumwana project is said to have contributed nearly $3bn to the Zambian economy in various forms, including taxes, salaries, royalties, and the procurement of goods and services.
Earlier this year, the Canadian mining company said that it accelerated the super pit expansion project. As a result, first production at the expanded Lumwana mine is expected to be achieved in 2028.
In a separate announcement, Barrick Gold and the Mali government reached an agreement to settle their disputes. The parties will work towards finding a global resolution to the existing claims and disagreements between the government and Barrick Gold’s Loulo and Gounkoto gold mining firms.
Barrick Gold plans to disclose the details of the agreement after finalising the terms of the settlement.
