Sinomine’s Zambia Kitumba Copper Project Enters Concentrate Trial Production

Sinomine Resource said its Kitumba copper project in Zambia’s Central Province entered trial production on September 21 local time, after mining and concentrator works completed production preparation. The current phase will produce copper concentrate, and the company will decide whether to sell the concentrate externally or retain it as feedstock for the downstream smelting project, depending on market conditions and construction progress.

Kitumba is located in the Mumbwa area of Zambia’s Central Province, covering around 248.17 sq km. The project is designed as an integrated mining, concentrator and smelting operation, with ore processing capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year and smelting capacity of 35,000 tonnes per year of copper cathode. At full capacity, it is expected to produce an average of 33,000 tonnes of copper cathode and 55,000 tonnes of copper concentrate per year. The smelting section remains under construction, with production preparation and trial production expected in Q4 2026 and formal commissioning planned for Q1 2027. The trial production marks Sinomine’s copper business moving from construction toward delivery, although near-term copper output will still depend on ramp-up progress and smelting completion.