Standard Bank Group has won Project Finance magazine's 2012 African Mining Deal Of The Year for the US$700m project funding for Konkola Copper Mines Plc.

The award recognizes Standard Bank Group's capabilities and achievements in helping implement KCM's brownfields expansion project in Zambia's copper belt to re-establish mining operations, and complete the development of the Konkola Deep Mining Project. 

Once the expansion project is complete, KCM will double its production to 400,000 tonnes of copper per year and extend the mine's life by 23 years. 

KCM was purchased by Vedanta Resources Plc in November 2004 and the fully integrated copper operations include a number of open pit mines, a large underground mine, leaching plant, a state of the art new flash smelter, modernized concentrators, a modernized refinery and a sulphuric acid plant. 

Brad Breetzke, Standard Bank Group's Head of Mining and Metals Finance, said highlights of the deal are that this is the single largest export credit backed underwrite by the Export Credit Insurance Corporation and the deal will result in Konkola Copper Mines becoming one of the top ten copper producers in the world, as well as one of the lowest-cost producers.