KCM Resumes Nchanga Smelter Operations After $40 Million Refurbishment

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has resumed operations at its Nchanga smelter in Zambia after more than three months of maintenance and refurbishment.

The Vedanta-owned mining company said the smelter returned to operations on September 21 following a 106-day shutdown that was originally expected to last about 60 days.

The additional time was required after detailed inspections identified further critical work that needed to be completed before the facility could restart.

The refurbishment cost approximately $40 million and represents the first major overhaul of the smelter in eight years.

Built at a cost of about $350 million and commissioned in 2010, the Nchanga smelter is one of Zambia’s major copper processing facilities, with a production capacity of up to 311,000 metric tonnes of copper per year.

KCM produced 80,215 tonnes of copper in 2025, according to Zambia’s Ministry of Mines.

The smelter refurbishment forms part of KCM’s wider modernisation programme as the company works towards increasing annual copper production to 300,000 tonnes by 2030.

The planned expansion comes as Zambia seeks to significantly increase national copper production. The country produced 890,346 tonnes in 2025 and has set a target of reaching 3 million tonnes annually by 2031.

Zambia is currently Africa’s second-largest copper producer, and the government has identified increased production and investment in the sector as important to expanding the country’s mining industry.

The return of the Nchanga smelter provides KCM with additional processing capacity as it continues its broader plans to expand production and modernise its operations on the Copperbelt.