* Outlook for copper prices continues to be good
* Within reach of 1 million annual production target by 2012
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By Chris Mfula
LUSAKA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Zambia's total copper production is expected to rise to more than 720,000 tonnes this year, the highest in nearly four decades, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Friday.
Zambia, Africa's top producer of copper, which is used extensively in construction and wiring, produced 692,604 tonnes of the metal in 2009.
"I am pleased to report that copper production in 2010 will exceed 720,000 tonnes, a level last seen in 1973. This places us within reach of our medium term target of one million tonnes per annum," Musokotwane said in a budget speech in the parliament.
Production of copper in the southern African country has been rising since Zambia privatised the mines in the early 2000s. The government forecasts that output will reach 1 million by 2012.
Both the Chamber of Mines of Zambia and the Treasury have said that investment in the copper mining industry, the country's economic lifeblood, has gone beyond $5 billion in the last eight years.
Musokotwane said global copper prices, which have average $7,202 per tonne in the nine months to September, have helped companies to sustain higher output.
"Never before have prices consistently remained at such a high level (and) 2010 has been an excellent year for copper exporting countries," Musokotwane said.
"The outlook for copper prices continues to be bright for the remainder of the year as well as for 2011."
Musokotwane said copper earnings were expected to be around $4,612 million in 2010 from $3,179 million last year.
Foreign mining companies in Zambia include London-listed Vedanta Resources, Canada's First Quantum Minerals, Equinox Minerals, Glencore International of Switzerland and Metorex of South Africa. (Writing by Shapi Shacinda)