The International Finance Corporation IFC has signed a Memorandum of Understating MOU with ZANACO worth 25 million United States dollars aimed at increase access to finance for smaller entrepreneurs and agricultural business companies in Zambia.

According to the MoU signed today, Zanaco will use the 25 million United States dollars senior loan from IFC, a member of the Word Bank, to increase products and services that target small and medium enterprises, especially in the agriculture sector.

It will also expand its lending in less developed and rural regions of Zambia were many entrepreneurs and businesses face difficulties in accessing finance, and raise its environmental and social standards.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Zanaco, Managing Director Mark Wiessing says the loan facility will assist the bank in supporting the SME sector in Zambia.

And IFC vice president for Business Advisory Services Rachel Kyte said her organization is committed to helping build an inclusive financial sector in Zambia by increasing access to finance for smaller businesses including the agribusiness sector.

She says the International Finance Corporation hopes to build on the strong relationship with Zanaco to increase financing to other important sectors of the Zambian economy.

EQUINOX Minerals Limited has announced a record second-quarter of about 44,000 tonnes production of copper at its Lumwana Mining Company in Solwezi in North-Western Province.

Equinox Minerals president and chief executive officer Craig Williams released the results on Monday in a statement saying production for the first half of 2010 stood at 74,306 tonnes of copper in concentrate.

Announcing preliminary production results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, Mr Williams said the company was maintaining its target for 2010 of 135,000 tonnes of copper production.

“Production of 43,835 tonnes of copper for the quarter reflects a substantially improved performance in all major areas of the mine and is an outstanding result and a credit to the intense hard work put in by the Lumwana team to improve the productivity of operations,” he said.

He said the production for the first half of 2010 now stands at 74,306 tonnes of copper in concentrate and the company is maintaining its guidance for 2010 of 135,000 tonnes of copper production.

He said although still impacted by some wet weather early in the quarter, total material moved was 26.6mt representing an annualised rate in excess of 100mt, while ore mined exceeded five mt for the first time.

He said improvements in mobile equipment availability, equipment utilisation and productivity all contributed to the improvement in material mined.

The improved utilisation and productivity resulted from the Hitachi fleet moving into new pit stages to the north and the south of the Starter Pit; stages that had been stripped of oxide material by the light fleet over the prior two quarters.

“More efficient and productive mining has resulted from the opening up of these additional stages where improved mine planning practices utilising longer working faces, larger blasts and higher benches markedly improved results,” he said.

And in addition to the 5.09 million tonnes of copper ore mined during the quarter, mining of the uranium zones at Valeria South and Valeria North within the Malundwe pit continued during the quarter with 1.15 million tonnes of uranium-copper ore mined.

The uranium-copper ore was being diverted away from the copper concentrator to stockpiles and was being classified and expensed as ‘waste’ to the copper project.

This uranium-copper ore stockpile may be treated at a later date, if and when the firm builds a uranium plant.