Lubambe Copper Mines didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Zambia state agency, which owns the remaining 20% stake in Lubambe, mentioned it’ll negotiate a brand new shareholders settlement and industrial phrases with the Chinese language firm.
Lubambe, beforehand owned by African Rainbow Minerals and Vale SA, produced about 15,000 tons of copper final 12 months however wants to lift output to about 2,500 tons a month to change into sustainable, it says on its web site.
JCHX mentioned on its web site it plans to “inject new vitality” into the copper mine, which is loss-making.
A number of the funding will go towards sinking a brand new shaft at Lubambe over the subsequent two to 5 years which might assist it entry copper deposits beneath 1,000 meters, the mine’s CEO Wang Gang mentioned on the Lubambe mine web site.
(By Chris Mfula and Felix Njini; Modifying by Jane Merriman)