Zambia’s government plans to retain ownership of certain mining licenses identified as promising through an ongoing mapping exercise, while inviting private investors to develop these assets in partnership with the state.
As Africa’s second-largest copper producer, Zambia aims to significantly boost copper output, with a goal of more than quadrupling production by the next decade. Achieving this target will require the transformation of multiple exploration projects into operational mines. To support this, the government is currently funding an aerial geophysical survey to pinpoint the most promising areas for mining.
At a conference in Lusaka, Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe revealed that the state has established a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to drive investment. Some of the areas identified through the mapping will remain licensed under the SPV, which will then seek partnerships for commercial exploration and mining ventures. Kabuswe suggested that in one potential scenario, the state company could hold a 45% interest in a joint venture.
First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold Corporation, through their subsidiaries, accounted for about two-thirds of Zambia’s copper output last year, according to government data.
Although Kabuswe did not provide specifics on the state’s financial involvement in the proposed joint ventures, he emphasized that the value of the licenses themselves, resulting from the government’s investment in mapping, should be seen as capital. “Our contribution as a nation is what we discovered on that tenement because we’ve already put money in through mapping,” he said.
The mines ministry recently resolved differences with an industry group over a draft law that could have increased the state’s share in new mining projects. Other key investors in Zambia’s mining sector include Bill Gates-backed KoBold Metals, Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Holding, China Nonferrous Mining Corp., and Vedanta Resources Ltd.
