Chinese Company Interested in Developing Afghan Copper Mine

Beijing, MINA – The Chinese company Jiangxi Copper together with Metallurgical Corp of China (MCC), expressed their interest in continuing to develop the copper mine in Mes Aynak, Afghanistan.

The company took a 30-year lease for the mine in 2008, which has estimated reserves of 11.08 million tonnes of copper.

Jiangxi Copper holds a 25% stake in the project. Daily Sabah reported on Monday.

“Due to the current unstable situation in Afghanistan, the Mes Aynak copper mine invested by the company has not undergone substantial construction,” Zheng Gaoqing, head of Jiangxi Copper said in an online briefing.

The company will monitor the situation and encourage project construction if possible, he said.

Mes Aynak, about 40 kilometers southeast of the capital Kabul, is also the site of ancient Buddhist ruins that activists have asked to preserve.

Meanwhile, the Jiangxi company is also prioritizing resource acquisition as its main strategy and will look to mines around the world for investment opportunities, according to Zheng.

“The increase in copper prices has brought direct benefits to the ore companies themselves,” he continued.

He expects copper prices to remain at high levels given the optimistic outlook for solar power and new energy consumption.

Copper prices on China’s Shanghai Futures Exchange have surged more than 21% this year, supported by recovering demand and global economic stimulus.

Jiangxi Copper reported its biggest quarterly net profit for the April-June period in 10 years in August. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)