By SILUMESI MALUMO
THE two-day lock down of Katanga Province in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will negatively affect many mining companies in Zambia because they import copper concentrate from the area, a mining expert Edward Simukonda has said.
Mr Simukonda said a number of mining companies especially on the Copperbelt depended on copper concentrate from Katanga province.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Simukonda said the impact would be felt because mining companies who depended on the concentrate would have nowhere to access the commodity.
“It is obvious that the tonnage of copper production will definitely reduce and this is will have a negative impact to our economy,” he said.
Katanga Governor, Jacques Kyabula, announced on Monday that the DRC government has imposed a 48-hour lock-down on mining province after the coronavirus outbreak. Mr Simukonda said the lock-down was a serious setback.
“Definitely the lock-down will have an impact in the mineral processing, this surely affect mining companies.
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