Copperbelt Beneficiation: Truck Concentrate, Not Waste

On the Zambian and Congolese Copperbelt the two scarcest inputs are grid power and haulage capacity. Pre-concentration spends less of both per tonne of copper.

The Copperbelt equation

Katanga and Zambian Copperbelt ores — malachite-dominated oxide caps over chalcopyrite sulphides — carry good grades by world standards, but every tonne must be hauled on stressed road corridors and processed on constrained grids. Zambia's push toward in-country beneficiation adds regulatory weight to the same conclusion: upgrade early, move less mass.

Proven on DRC ore

Our DRC oxide-copper campaign lifted 1.03% Cu to 2.32% at 81.2% recovery with 64% of mass rejected at 0.5–8 mm — followed by a signed LOI and a preliminary plant design. Rejecting two thirds of the tonnage before leach or flotation means acid, power and truck-kilometres are spent on pre-concentrate, not waste rock.

Delivery in Africa

We deliver as EPC, EPC+O&M or BOT — including building and operating the plant ourselves, as we do for a 300,000 t/a operation in Mongolia under a 10-year contract. For remote Copperbelt sites the modular pilot platform tests on site; alternatively a one-tonne sample to our laboratory returns washability results within 24 hours.