South Africa's Standard Bank said Friday it has provided a $500 million loan facility to Zambia's largest mining company, Konkola Copper Mines, a unit of London-listed Vedanta Resources.
The loan will be used to refinance shareholder loans from Vedanta, the bank said.
"In addition, Standard Bank is also mandated to arrange and underwrite a $700 million term loan facility to fund investment that will turn the Zambian copper miner into one of the world's leading copper producers, and provide further impetus for growth in the Zambian economy," it said in a statement.
"The funding to KCM is the single largest injection into the Zambian Copper Belt ever by a bank," said Brad Breetzke, head of mining finance at Standard Bank said.
Last year Vedanta announced a $674-million expansion at Konkola to increase output from two million to 7.5 million tonnes per year.
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