Lusaka - Zambia's Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM) wound up operations Wednesday, citing the sharp drop in copper prices on the international market due to the global recession.

Company spokesperson Sydney Chileya told private radio that LCM would finish paying off its 1,740 workers Wednesday and ruled out any possibility of reopening the mine.

Last month, LCM, a joint venture between Swiss-based International Mineral Resources and Bein Stein Group Resources of Israel, already shut down one of its copper mines at Baluba and its Chambishi cobalt smelter, the country's largest.

It further suspended its new 354-million-dollar Mulyashi mine project in the north-central Copperbelt region.

The firm claims that copper mining is no longer profitable and that it will only resume operations if prices for the metal rise.

Zambian President Rupiah Banda has lashed back, warning mining companies against using the global recession to retrench workers in a bid to cut costs and reduce overheads.

Banda says Chinese investors and Indian firms have expressed interest in taking over LCM. (dpa)