LUANDA (Reuters) -Angola’s first major copper mine, Tetelo, will start production on October 29, officials said on Wednesday, part of the oil-rich African country’s efforts to diversify into clean energy minerals.
The $250 million mine is owned by Shining Star Icarus, a partnership between China’s Shining Star International Group and Angola’s Sociedade Mineira de Cobre de Angola and is expected to produce 25,000 metric tons of copper concentrate annually in the first two years of operation.
“I am honoured to announce the inauguration of the Tetelo mine, which will take place in a few days,” Mines Minister Diamantino Azevedo told a conference in the capital Luanda.
“This event will mark the start of production at the first underground mine for this very important metal,” he said.
Alongside battery metals, such as lithium, cobalt or nickel, copper is also considered essential in the transition towards renewable energy.
Shining Star Icarus deputy managing director Rui Lopes told Reuters the initial phase will be an open-pit operation, followed by underground mining from the second half of 2026.
The mine has an offtake agreement with commodities trader Glencore, Lopes added.
Ivanhoe Mines and Anglo American also have copper exploration projects in Angola.
(Reporting by Miguel Gomes, editing by Nelson Banya, Tomasz Janowski and Ros Russell)
