LUSAKA, Sept 22 – Vedanta’s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has resumed operations at its Nchanga copper smelter in Zambia after completing more than three months of maintenance and rehabilitation work.
The company said the smelter returned to operations following a 106-day shutdown, significantly longer than the initial 60-day schedule after detailed inspections identified additional critical work requiring attention.
The rehabilitation cost approximately $40 million and represents the first major refurbishment of the facility in eight years.
Built at a cost of $350 million and commissioned in 2010, the Nchanga smelter is one of Zambia’s largest copper-processing facilities, with production capacity of 311,000 metric tons of copper.
Rehabilitation supports KCM production expansion
KCM produced 80,215 tons of copper in 2025, according to Zambia’s mines ministry. The Nchanga maintenance programme forms part of Vedanta’s wider modernization strategy for KCM, with the company targeting annual copper production of 300,000 tons by 2030.
The return of the smelter to operation restores an important component of KCM’s processing infrastructure as the company works to expand production and improve the performance of its copper assets.
The rehabilitation also comes as Zambia seeks to significantly increase national copper output and strengthen its position in global copper markets.
Zambia targets 3 million tons of copper
Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, aims to increase national copper production to 3 million tons annually by 2031, from 890,346 tons in 2025.
The government’s production target requires significant investment across mining, processing and supporting infrastructure as the country seeks to expand its copper industry.
For KCM, the Nchanga smelter rehabilitation is therefore part of a broader expansion programme aimed at increasing production capacity over the coming years.
The restart also reinforces the importance of domestic processing capacity to Zambia’s copper strategy, as the country seeks to capture greater value from its mineral resources while expanding overall production.
