Konkola Copper Mines takes Nchanga smelter offline for 60-day overhaul

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), the Vedanta-controlled producer in Chingola, has shut its Nchanga smelter for a 60-day maintenance and refurbishment programme, the company said at the start of June. Work began on 29 May and is scheduled to be completed by 25 July, according to state broadcaster ZNBC.

What the work involves

Corporate affairs chief John Kunda said the shutdown involves major rehabilitation work carried out with original equipment manufacturers, specialised technical partners, local contractors and suppliers. News Diggers reported that the programme had engaged more than 1,449 skilled and unskilled workers.

Acting chief executive Malcolm Mewett, who inspected the works, said the stoppage was part of a broader rebuilding and modernisation strategy for the company's mining and processing operations. He urged supervisors and the site's 25 safety officers to maintain close oversight throughout the programme.

Keeping copper flowing

Because the Nchanga smelter is also a source of sulphuric acid, the shutdown could have disrupted KCM's Tailings Leach Plant, which recovers copper from historic waste. Kunda said the company would keep the plant supplied with a combination of acid bought from outside and output from the 500-tonne-a-day acid plant at Nchanga Operations.

The smelter produced more than 80,000 tonnes of copper in 2025, according to African Mining Market, and KCM wants to lift output to 300,000t a year by 2030 as it redevelops the Konkola Deep underground mine.

Three smelters down at once

The Nchanga outage coincides with extended maintenance at the Mopani and Chambishi smelters, meaning three of Zambia's main processing sites were expected to be offline for parts of the period between June and mid-September. That concentration of outages is likely to tighten supply of both refined copper and sulphuric acid in the region, and it prompted the government to extend a waiver allowing some unprocessed concentrate to be exported free of Zambia's 10% duty.

For KCM, the shutdown is a bet that short-term lost smelting time will pay back in reliability. The operation's recovery has been one of the main drivers of Zambia's production growth: its output rose roughly four-fold in 2025, according to the mines ministry. Sustaining that trajectory depends on a smelter that can run consistently at higher rates.

Sources

• ZNBC: KCM Maintains Copper Processing During Maintenance Shutdown, 02 Jun 2026
• News Diggers: KCM shuts down Nchanga Smelter for maintenance, 03 Jun 2026
• African Mining Market: Vedanta's Konkola Copper Mines commences 60-day maintenance shutdown, 02 Jun 2026

Photo: The Nchanga copper mine near Chingola, operated by Konkola Copper Mines. BlueSalo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.