Luita
Encyclopedia
The Luita plant will be the largest copper and cobalt processing plant in Africa, and the largest cobalt facility in the world. It is being built in modules by the Central African Mining and Exploration Company
(CAMEC) in Katanga Province
, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Luita plant is designed to process copper and cobalt concentrate from Mukondo Mountain, which may be the richest cobalt reserve in the world. In July 2008 CAMEC said the resource estimate at Mukondo was 70 million tons of ore containing 1.5 million tons of copper and 500,000 tonnes of cobalt. The cobalt grade averages 1.2%, an exceptionally high concentration.
The ore is concentrated at the Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant at Kakanda before being trucked 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) to Luita.
In February 2008 CAMEC and their partner, Dan Gertler
's Prairie International, announced that the Mukondo Mountain operations had restarted.
In July 2008 CAMEC said the Luita facility, due to be completed later that year, would be the largest of its kind in the world.
The target was to produce 100,000 tonnes per year of copper cathode.
By the end of March, 2008, CAMEC had invested $200 million in Luita, and had three SX/EW copper cathode trains in operation, and a small cobalt concentrator. Eventually there were plans for nine copper cathode trains and one cobalt train, each 18 metres (59.1 ft) wide and 180 metres (590.6 ft) in length. The under-roof plant will be 50000 cubic metres (1,765,733.3 cu ft) in size.
When running at full production, the plant was planned to produce 12,000 tons per year of cobalt cathode at 99.9% purity, about one third of total global production of cobalt in 2008.
However, in July 2009 CAMEC announced a long term agreement under which CAMEC would deliver its entire annual production of cobalt in concentrate from Mukondo Mountain to Zhejiang Galico Cobalt & Nickel Materials of China. At that time production was running at between 6,000 and 8,000 tons per year of cobalt in concentrate.
Central African Mining and Exploration Company
The Central African Mining and Exploration Company was a mining company active in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in other parts of Africa. It was acquired by ENRC in 2009.-Early years:...
(CAMEC) in Katanga Province
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Luita plant is designed to process copper and cobalt concentrate from Mukondo Mountain, which may be the richest cobalt reserve in the world. In July 2008 CAMEC said the resource estimate at Mukondo was 70 million tons of ore containing 1.5 million tons of copper and 500,000 tonnes of cobalt. The cobalt grade averages 1.2%, an exceptionally high concentration.
The ore is concentrated at the Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant at Kakanda before being trucked 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) to Luita.
In February 2008 CAMEC and their partner, Dan Gertler
Dan Gertler
Dan Gertler is an Israeli businessman, the founder and President of the DGI Group of Companies. He has large interests in diamonds and copper mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .-Background:...
's Prairie International, announced that the Mukondo Mountain operations had restarted.
In July 2008 CAMEC said the Luita facility, due to be completed later that year, would be the largest of its kind in the world.
The target was to produce 100,000 tonnes per year of copper cathode.
By the end of March, 2008, CAMEC had invested $200 million in Luita, and had three SX/EW copper cathode trains in operation, and a small cobalt concentrator. Eventually there were plans for nine copper cathode trains and one cobalt train, each 18 metres (59.1 ft) wide and 180 metres (590.6 ft) in length. The under-roof plant will be 50000 cubic metres (1,765,733.3 cu ft) in size.
When running at full production, the plant was planned to produce 12,000 tons per year of cobalt cathode at 99.9% purity, about one third of total global production of cobalt in 2008.
However, in July 2009 CAMEC announced a long term agreement under which CAMEC would deliver its entire annual production of cobalt in concentrate from Mukondo Mountain to Zhejiang Galico Cobalt & Nickel Materials of China. At that time production was running at between 6,000 and 8,000 tons per year of cobalt in concentrate.