2016 Spring / Summer Issue
Tenke Fungurume looks to the future with second acid plant
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), deep in the heart of Africa, is home to some of the world’s largest known copper deposits. Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), located in the Lualaba Province, is one of the country’s largest copper producers, as well as the world’s premier producer of cobalt. The facility, which includes surface mining, leaching and SX/EW operations, currently produces 205,000 metric tons of copper and 16,000 metric tons of cobalt each year. As capacities increase, so do the demands for sulfuric acid, an important component in processing the ore. After the successful installation of the site’s first sulfuric acid plant in 2009, increasing capacities led to higher demands for acid. Always looking ahead, the company quickly realized the benefits of adding a second, larger acid plant, which came online in the first quarter of 2016. This addition brings the company’s investment in the area to over $3 billion so far, representing one of the largest private investments in the country’s history.
