cost of approximately $30 million. It was originally constructed as a five-year life short-term plant with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes/year of finished copper. 2000s In 2002, the mining facility was expanded and the mine produced of 11,878 tonnes of copper cathode as well as 88,198 tonnes of sulphuric acid. The Bwana Mkubwa SX-EW plant reportedly posted a 77% decrease in output to 5851 tonnes of copper cathode in 2008 from 25402 tonnes in 2007. In October 2008, operations were suspended and the plant was placed on care and maintenance. The closure of the mine had a negative social and economic impact socially on 400 employees. In January 2010, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) restarted the Bwana Mkubwa's copper SX/EW (solvent extraction and electrowinning) plant to process stockpiled ore from the depleted Lonshi mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was as a result of reopening of the border between Zambia and Congo. FQM has also initiated action to finding additional sites to feed its processing plants. In 2010, they anticipated that their new operations would result in a production of about 800 tons of copper cathodes per month. The original tailings facility of the plant was founded to process is long since exhausted. However, by August 2010, FQM announced it had run out of raw materials and would be closing the mine. While pursuing suitable additional sites for feeding its copper processing plants, FQM's operations at the Bwana Mkubwa plant using solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) processing plant began with a positive note of anticipated production of about 800 tonnes of copper cathode per month, till end of 2010. This was as a result of recent re-opening of the border between the Zambia and Congo, which enabled the company to process the stockpiled ores from the Lonshi open pit mine in Congo. References Buildings and structures in Copperbelt Province Mining communities in Africa Copper mines in Zambia Geography of Copperbelt Province Ndola 1902 establishments in the British Empire