China's Africa-focused base metals miner Jinchuan Group International Resources said late Friday its copper production rose 2.2% year on year to 20,788 mt over January-June.
Cobalt output rose 14.3% over the same period to 2,005 mt, the company said in its 2017 interim report filed with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
Sale volumes of copper rose 2.2% year on year to 20,796 mt in H1, while cobalt sales shot up 20.8% to 2,022 mt, the company said.
JGIR is the overseas base metals mining and trading arm of China's state-owned nickel, cobalt and copper producer Jinchuan Group.
Its South African subsidiary Metorex operates two mining joint ventures in the central African copperbelt, the 75%-owned Ruashi copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the 85%-controlled Chibuluma South copper mine in Zambia.
JGIR is also working to restart operations at the brownfield Kinsenda copper project in Congo. It has finished commissioning the project's concentrator and is progressing with the establishment of key systems including pre-dewatering, ventilation and backfill, JGIR said in the report.
It targets first underground ore from Kinsenda in the fourth quarter. Production is expected to average 20,000 mt/year of copper in concentrates.
JGIR is also preparing development of the greenfield Musonoi copper and cobalt project in Congo's Katanga province. The underground project has a declared mineral resource of 31.7 million mt at a grade of 2.8% copper and 0.9% cobalt.
The Hong Kong-listed miner is looking to establish Musonoi as a 1 million mt/year run-of-mill mining operation with a lifespan of more than 20 years.
Its production is expected at 31,000 mt/year of copper cathode and 10,000 mt/year of cobalt contained in hydroxide.
