On the signing screen of China Ruilin headquarters in Nanchang, the figure of 498 million US dollars finally froze, and a large overseas copper mine project spanning nearly 10000 kilometers was officially launched. On September 17, 2026, China Ruilin signed a contract with Zambia's Konkola Copper Mine for a tailings wet treatment plant project, with a total amount of approximately RMB 3.378 billion. This is also one of the largest tailings redevelopment orders won by Chinese engineering companies in the African Copperbelt region this year.

Full chain engineering output replaces simple equipment export

The project is located in Chingola, Copperbelt Province, Zambia, with a designed annual copper production capacity of 70000 tons. China Ruilin will be fully responsible for the design, procurement, construction and installation, and provide full process support for commissioning, performance guarantee testing, and personnel training. This contract, covering the whole main process of the project, breaks out of the single mode of traditional equipment export, and deeply integrates and packages the hydrometallurgical technical scheme, domestic supply chain support and overseas on-site delivery capacity.

At present, the project is in a signed and pending effective state. Both parties have agreed to officially start after 28 days of signing and receiving the advance payment. The start and completion time has not been announced yet. In the project documents disclosed by KCM in June, the total capital expenditure for the new factory was estimated to be between 741 million and 750 million US dollars, with a planned overall construction period of about two years.

African old copper mines open a new cycle of existing resources

KCM is a leading comprehensive copper mine operator in Zambia, covering the entire chain of mining, beneficiation, and smelting. Its equity is held 79.4% by Vedanta Resources and 20.6% by ZCCM-IH, a state-owned investment company in Zambia. After the completion of the new factory, it will operate in parallel with the existing wet process system to recover copper resources from the historical tailings that have already been piled up, without the need to build a large-scale mining system, significantly reducing the initial investment threshold for incremental expansion.

At present, supporting categories such as pumps, acid resistant pipes, solvent extraction, and electrochemical equipment have entered the subsequent procurement subcontracting list of China Ruilin. Relevant domestic suppliers will have the opportunity to directly enter the project supply chain system. The effective date of the contract, the release time of the first batch of procurement packages, and the construction and production schedule will become the three core signals for observing the pace of project implementation. Keywords: Overseas copper mines, frontline engineering

From the engineering drawings in Nanchang to the tailings yard in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, this mature wet copper engineering capability is turning Africa's dormant tailings into a stable source of copper production capacity.Editor/Cheng Liting