Johannesburg — JSE-listed Bell Equipment, which decided to diversify into the resources sector after posting big losses in March, said yesterday that it would supply materials-handling machinery to copper mines in the Democratic Republic Congo.

Bell Equipment had focused on the copper mining sector in the Congo, "perceiving growth prospects and long-term stability", said CEO Gary Bell. Copper prices had improved, and the outlook for the next few years was positive.

The high copper price was attributed to a limited copper supply and increased demand, especially from China.

Frost & Sullivan mining analyst Wonder Nyanjowa said that with China overtaking the US as the world's biggest copper consumer, copper mining and its related industries had boomed.

"The copper mines require Bell's capital equipment, especially with the transport of materials from the (Congo) to Zambia, where copper is refined and processed," said Mr Nyanjowa.

Bell Equipment was taking advantage of an emerging Congolese mining sector, focusing on copper-rich neighbour Zambia. The Congolese province of Katanga was underexploited, but hosted an extensive copper belt stretching from Angola, through the Congo and Zambia, Mr Nyanjowa said.

It is understood this copper belt contains 10% of the world's copper reserves and 34% of the world's cobalt reserves.

Bell Equipment said in March that it had sought to recover from its toughest year in its history. This was after the company reported a sharp fall in revenue last year to R2,7bn from R5,46bn in 2008. The company also posted a net loss of R372m after a profit of R514m.

Mr Bell said at the time: "It's not clear yet that the world economy is in much better shape. If we see a serious adjustment in commodity prices, that would certainly (affect) a major sector of our business."

After retrenching staff, the company said business prospects in Africa had enabled it to increase production rates in manufacturing, and therefor to re-employ many employees.