Poland’s cooper producer KGHM is planning to invest in mines in Europe and Morocco to secure supplies closer to its smelting base in Poland, reduce transport cost and carbon footprint.
The Company’s investment plans and interest in Morocco have been disclosed by CEO Remigiusz Paszkiewicz. As KGHM is looking for raw material nearer to its domestic processing operations, Morocco emerged among its top priorities.
KGHM, which operates the Robinson mine in the U.S. and holds 55% in Sierra Gorda in Chile on top of its Polish assets, signed last month a MoU with Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines and Moroccan mining firm Managem Group on cooperation in raw materials.
Morocco is positioning itself as a hub for strategic minerals, particularly for the global battery supply chain. The government has recently launched a national digital mining registry to streamline licensing and attract major international investors like KGHM.
The major copper deposits in Morocco are located in the Anti-Atlas mountain belt, with the Tizert Project set to become one of the country’s largest site with estimated 100 million tons of resources. It is expected to produce 120,000 tons of copper concentrate annually.
The other major Moroccan copper projects and mines include the Bouskour mine (Ouarzazate), with estimated reserves of 9 million tons of high grade of 1.61% copper, Bleida mine (copper-cobalt), Bel N’Zourk Deposit (cobalt, with ore concentrations reaching up to 3.44% copper and Kharrouba Copper mine in Marrakech, currently processing 800 tons of ore per day.
