Congo Copper Output Seen Declining This Year on Power Shortages

Copper production in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s biggest producer, is expected to decline along with output of other metals this year because of unreliable power supplies in mineral-rich Katanga province, the main industry body said.

The Central African nation is expected to produce 1.02 million metric tons of copper, compared with 1.03 million tons last year, the Chamber of Mines at the Federation des Entreprises du Congo said in an Aug. 26 report e-mailed from the capital, Kinshasa. Annual production of cobalt, zinc, cassiterite, coltan and diamonds is also expected to drop, while only gold and wolframite output will rise, it said.