SHANGHAI, Jul 2 (SMM) – Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco) began the trial operation of its new 400,000-mt/year copper smelting project in Ningde city, Fujian province on Saturday June 30, SMM learned.

With total investment of over 5 billion yuan, the project also has a sulphuric acid capacity of 1.46 million mt. It is expected to generate over 1,000 jobs with annual revenue up to 16.6 billion yuan and profits up to 780 million yuan once it is fully commissioned.

Copper produced from this project is expected to fully rely on imported copper concentrate. The Ningde-based bonded warehouse for copper concentrate has started its service since April 2014.