Congo set to produce record 1.05 mln T of copper in 2017

Democratic Republic of Congo’s chamber of mines said on Friday it expects the country to produce a record 1.05 million tonnes of copper in 2017, up 2.4 percent over last year, as prices recover and large projects raise production.

Congo produced a record of roughly 1.03 million tonnes in 2014 before copper prices fell due to weakening demand from top consumer China.

In a presentation to a mining conference in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi, the chamber also forecast that gold and cobalt production this year would increase by 2.8 and 3.9 percent, respectively.