ZAMBIAS Konkola Copper Mines Plc is forecast to produce some 240 000 tonnes of copper in 2001, says major shareholder Zambia Copper Investments Ltd (ZCI). ZCI, which owns 65% of Konkola Copper, also said a feasibility study on the Konkola Deep Mining Project would be completed in the first quarter of this year. It said Konkola’s finished copper production for the nine months to December 31, 2000 was 125_385 tonnes compared with a planned 149 334. The shortfall in production was initially due to a combination of delays in receiving spares and equipment and slower development, the company said in a statement. ZCI is a subsidiary of London-listed mining giant Anglo American Plc which acquired the bulk of Zambia’s copper mining assets from state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines in March 2000. ZCI said $70m was spent on refurbishing Konkola assets in 2000. – Reuters