CEC MAKING STRIDES IN RENEWABLE ENERGY

COPPERBELT Energy Cor poration (CEC) is taking strides in the renewable energy space by partnering with the mines, according to the company’s Chief Fi nancial Officer, Mr Mutale Mukuka.

Mr Mukuka observed that the country’s growing mining sector business environment had significantly improved, allowing for more investments.

He said CEC was excited about the opportunity to support the growing min ing sector. Mr Mukuka’s comments were contained on the Mining for Zambia magazine.“Copperbelt En ergy Corporation is taking strides in the renewable en ergy space and, by partnering with the mines, we are also helping them to achieve their Net Zero emissions goals, by adding a more renewable, sustainable energy source to the production cycle,” Mr Mukuka said.

Mr Mukuka expected to see tangible positive effects from the First Quantum Minerals (FQM’s) investment soon.

FQM recently announced that it will inject US$1.25 bil lion into expanding produc tion at its flagship Kansan shi mine, extending the life of mine until well into the 2040s. The mine also ap proved a final investment of US$100 million, on top of US$150 million already spent, to get its Enterprise nickel mine into production within 12 months.

“Firstly, once construc tion (on S3 and Enterprise) commences, there will im mediately be a need for sup porting services and infra structure. This is the growth that comes with mining, and where we expect to see a lot of benefits. Mining has never been a stand-alone sector.

“Secondly, the investment is timely in that it allows Zambia to extract resources now while commodity pric es are reasonably high. We know for sure that, based on commodity prices trends, we’ll have booms and reces sions, so we need to max imise production now to get maximum benefit as a coun try,” Mr Mukuka said.

Mr Mukuka