$22 million copper-gold mine expansion begins in Pakistan

Metallurgical Construction Company of China (MCC) will launch expansion project of its Saindak copper-gold mining project located in Pakistan. The MCC resumed production in Saindak project in August 2003 after a 7-year hiatus. Total investment of this expansion project will probably reach USD 22 mln, and the project is still operated by MCC Resource Development Co. (MRDC), a subsidiary under MCC, Zhu Xiaoli, general manager of MRDC told Interfax.

As Interfax previously reported, the copper-gold mine is located in Saindak, Chagai District in Baluchistan, 650 km west of the Quetta Provincial capital and 1,275 km from Karachi. The Saindak project started trial production in November 1995, after MCC finished construction and transferred the project to its Pakistan co-investor. However, production only lasted 45 days, stopping due to a lack of funds and management skills on the Pakistani side. However, in 2002 the Pakistani government offered MCC a new 10 year lease on the property, and Saindak Metals Limited (SML), the Pakistan government authorized company, became MCC’s partner in operating the project.

The Sainsack copper-gold mine is estimated to contain 400 mln tons of copper ore, and it is designed to produce 700,000 tons of copper concentrates, 20,000 tons of crude copper and 1.6 tons of gold per year. Zhu told the current production capability was still below the designed level…