(Reuters) – Power cuts in north-western Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, have affected production at mines run by Canada’s First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold, an industry body said on Tuesday.
Zambian power utility Zesco Ltd is limiting power it supplies to customers, including mining companies, after water levels at its hydro-electric plants dropped due to drought.
“Power was reduced to both First Quantum Minerals and Lumwana over the weekend,” Jackson Sikamo, President of the Zambian Chamber of Mines said.
Lumwana is Barrick’s open-pit copper mine.
First Quantum said in a statement its Kansanshi mine, smelter and its greenfield Sentinel project were running at reduced capacities.