Konkola mine is the northernmost of the Zambian Copperbelt mines.
Mining
The existing No.1 shaft and No.3 shaft systems at Konkola have been managed as separate mines. Underground haulage connections between the two mines were developed mainly for cross tramming and dewatering purposes. The mine pumps about 280 000 m3 of water per day to the surface. All water is pumped out via No 1 Shaft.
Both shafts are used for servicing and for hoisting ore and waste. The underground ore arising from Konkola is treated in the Konkola concentrator situated close to the No.1 shaft
Concentrator
The ore from the mine is treated at the Konkola concentrator situated close to the No.1 shaft. The No.1 shaft material comes directly into the plant while the 3 shaft materials is trucked to the plant. The concentrator has the capacity to process 2.4 million tonnes per annum (about 6500 tpd)
Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP)
This project is aimed at expanding the production of copper ore at Konkola Mine from two million tonnes per annum to 7.5 million tonnes per annum by accessing the rich ore body that lies beneath what the current operations have been exploiting. This project will extend the life of Konkola Mine by 23 years. This involves the sinking of a new mine shaft to the depth of 1 490 metres, the deepest new shaft sinking project in Africa. In addition, the project involves the deepening of existing, sinking of three new ventilation shafts, one dewatering shaft and the construction of a new pump chamber.
Alongside the KDMP, a modern concentrator is being built to handle the additional ore that will be produced at Konkola. The concentrator will treat 6 000 000 tonnes of ore per annum.
|
