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From good to great: Zambia’s mining sector takes stock

Economic Contribution

June 6, 2026

In the last five years, Zambia’s mining sector has changed course, and all because government policy began creating an environment that enabled – not discouraged – investment.

In this article, Mining For Zambia speaks with mine operators and stakeholders with firsthand experience of the changes that have transformed the sector, and asked them to reflect on what exactly Zambia’s mining industry has achieved in the last five years. And, as Zambia heads to the polls in August, how could the next Government build on – and compound – these successes?

From intensive care to $12 billion

Before the current administration was elected in August 2021, Zambia’s mining sector was in “intensive care,” as Phesto Musonda, Board Chair of ZCCM-IH put it. “However, by providing the policy stability necessary to attract growth, the mining industry is now at last in good health again,” Mr Musonda explained. “For the first time, Zambia is anticipating one million tonnes’ copper production in 2026.”

Existing operations have been rejuvenated, and new faces are starting to appear. KoBold Metals Africa CEO Ms Mfikeyi Makayi reflected on what Zambia’s current investment climate has made possible in Mingomba.

“Three and a half years ago, we were a new Zambian company with 10 people. Today, we have over 800 people working here at the site of this new mine.”

What’s made this turnaround possible is confronting several challenges in parallel: tackling an unsustainable debt burden, while simultaneously bringing mining tax rates back into competitive territory. The rule of law has also been restored to a sector where security of tenure had been badly shaken.

A $12 billion wave of investment commitments is the result: from Kansanshi Mining Plc’s $1.25 billion S3 expansion, to Barrick’s $2 billion Lumwana Super Pit Expansion, CNMC’s $1.3 billion investment to restart Chambishi and Luanshya mines, the recapitalisation of Mopani (MCM), and the emergence of major new entrants including KoBold Metals at Mingomba. Furthermore, having earlier pledged to invest $1 billion to revive and expand Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Vedanta Resources has just announced that it intends to raise and invest a full $2.7 billion to triple KCM’s copper output by 2031.

What were the key actions that have encouraged this investment wave?

“The first key action that the new Government took was reducing the average effective tax rate in line with our main competitors like the DRC, enough to spur the growth we’ve seen,” said Mr Chilembo. “But, if we are to become truly globally competitive – or even regionally competitive – we need it to come down more. Our average effective tax rate is still above South Africa’s, which is a key source of capital in its own right, and the mining companies of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are Wall Street’s preferred conduit for capital onto the continent. If we don’t have average effective tax rate parity with South Africa, we will not get the full thrust of what Wall Street intends for the continent.”

Mr Anthony Mukutuma, First Quantum Minerals’ Country Director for Zambia, agrees. “Is the operating environment now perfect or without faults? Certainly not. But we see our regulatory and fiscal regimes becoming more aligned with other mining jurisdictions – in changes such as MRT being tax-deductible, and the Minerals Regulations Commission Act of 2025 replacing the Minerals and Mining Act of 2016. The latter provides a neat one-stop shop for mining companies coming into and operating in Zambia.”

“The first key action that the new Government took was reducing the average effective tax rate in line with our main competitors like the DRC, enough to spur the growth we’ve seen.”

What does stability look like on the ground?

A clear illustration of what stability has made possible – and what its absence nearly cost – is the S3 expansion at Kansanshi Mine. It was years in the making; it was also years delayed.

“The S3 expansion was deferred in 2013 following multiple adverse changes to the fiscal and mining policy regimes over a sustained period of time that continued into early 2020,” said Mr Mukutuma.

Without S3, Kansanshi would now be producing at roughly half its volumes of a decade ago – and facing closure within a few years.

“S3 has secured the Kansanshi revenue line for FQM and the Government of the Republic of Zambia for another 20-plus years,” said Mr Mukutuma. “Its contribution to the 2026 Kansanshi production guidance is about 80,000 tonnes of copper. That’s 39-40% – not insignificant.”

“S3 has secured the Kansanshi revenue line for FQM and the Government of the Republic of Zambia for another 20-plus years.”

What does this kind of investment deliver beyond the mine itself?

The answer is visible across Northwestern Province.

“If you look at Solwezi and Kalumbila in particular,” said Mr Mukutuma, “what you see is the impact of the mines on the economies of these towns and, more broadly, the province – which otherwise would have remained largely under-served. Income to people working for the mines, companies providing goods and services to the mines, land rates to the local municipalities, and corporate tax and mineral royalties to the central government – all these contribute significantly to the local economy and improving or building infrastructure. The growth and development of Northwestern Province is intrinsically linked to the presence of mining operations such as FQM and others operating in the area.”

We’re seeing a similar spark once again on the Copperbelt. Speaking about Mingomba’s growing footprint around Chililabombwe, Ms Makayi observed: “The reinvigoration of the mining sector has had a knock-on effect on other sectors, and has brought so much hope and excitement back. We struggle with finding accommodation in Chililabombwe and Chingola – this is a signal for the domino effect of economic opportunities that lie for entrepreneurs here.”

Investment confidence, it seems, isn’t only showing up in new mines and expansions. Mr Chilembo pointed out: “Zambia is back at the forefront of the application of new technology. We’ve had First Quantum and Hitachi trialing their EV dump truck. Orica, the explosives company, has upgraded their local factory in Chambishi to the most cutting-edge technologies across the globe, and China Nonferrous Metals Corporation has commissioned the first tunnel-boring underground mining machine on the continent. This is what comes when your risk and cost of capital begin to drop – when people have confidence. These innovations accelerate the production rate, so there’s a domino effect.”

“The reinvigoration of the mining sector has had a knock-on effect on other sectors, and has brought so much hope and excitement back. We struggle with finding accommodation in Chililabombwe and Chingola – this is a signal for the domino effect of economic opportunities that lie for entrepreneurs here.”

The ZCCM-IH transformation

Zambia’s state mining investment vehicle, ZCCM-IH, has used the improved investment climate to restructure its portfolio in ways that now generate income regardless of commodity price cycles. “The defining moment – which we are so proud about – was converting our dividend rights in the Kansanshi mine into a 3.1% gross revenue, life-of-mine royalty,” said Mr Musonda. “Since 2022 we have accumulated $110.6 million – including through 2023 and 2024, when Kansanshi declared no dividends.”

The same reformist instinct that reshaped the mining fiscal regime extended to the energy sector. Government opened the electricity market to independent power producers – creating conditions for ZCCM-IH to invest directly in generation capacity. The results have been commercially significant. “The current administration unlocked Maamba Energy Limited – it was owed more than $300 million by Zesco at the time,” said Mr Musonda. “Because of the encouragement and the reforms that President Hichilema drove, Zesco has paid all this debt. That is why Maamba – in which ZCCM-IH is a 35% shareholder – is able to pay dividends now.”

The April 2026 shaft-sinking ceremony at Mingomba Mine (photo: KoBold Metals)

The three million tonne question

The progress of the past four years is real, and its foundations are solid. The question now is whether Zambia can build on them decisively enough to realise the full scale of its ambition. The Government’s target of three million tonnes of copper production annually by 2031 – more than three times current output – is certainly ambitious, and getting there will require more than momentum.

Mr Mukutuma is clear about what the target demands: “The aspiration to get to three million tonnes of production by 2031 must be backed by new mines. The metric or scorecard policymakers use to assess progress towards the three-million-tonne annual target should not be today’s production, but exploration instead. We must increase the nation’s mineral resource inventory. I cannot emphasise this enough.”

The arithmetic is straightforward. Zambia’s existing mines, running at full capacity, can produce a maximum of 1.6 million tonnes per year. But every tonne mined is a step closer to the end of a mine’s productive life. So reaching three million tonnes is not a matter of optimising what exists – it requires a pipeline of new mines. That pipeline begins with exploration, to find the deposits that could one day become an operating mine. But the gap between Zambia’s current exploration levels and that of comparable jurisdictions is stark.

“Canada leads in absolute copper exploration spending, averaging well over $3 billion per year – four to five times more than the DRC, and over ten times more than Zambia,” explained Mr Mukutuma.

Building a resource inventory large enough to sustain three million tonnes annually for decades is not a one-year undertaking. The work must start now.

Ms Makayi frames it as a collective endeavour: “Collaboration will advance our collective progress to increase production to three million tonnes copper, but also diversify into other commodities. We need to explore effectively, and we need to leverage modern technology. This is how we will achieve these goals.”

Part of the answer may lie in how exploration itself is financed. Mr Chilembo points to a mechanism that does not yet exist in Zambia: the flow-through share (FTS) mechanism, under which an explorer’s expenses can be assigned to an investor in exchange for equity, making exploration spend tax-efficient, and opening it to a far broader pool of capital. “Much of Canada’s exploration is financed via a flow-through share mechanism. If this mechanism can be set up in Zambia, our pipeline could grow fast enough – the virtuous cycle is complete.”

From good to great: regulatory coherence and compliance

Exploration financing is just one piece of the puzzle. Another is the regulatory environment in which exploration and mining take place. Fiscal stability has been achieved – but the risk of regulatory instability offsetting it remains real. In recent years, a series of individually well-intentioned regulatory changes, driven by different arms of Government, have cumulatively increased the cost of doing business in ways that no single agency has been tasked with measuring. Mr Chilembo articulates both the problem and the solution:

“It would be brilliant if we could finally get all the regulations and laws into just one compendium which businesses or investors receive when they come to the country. But to get there, we need more detailed impact assessments, and a strengthening of the Business Regulatory Review Agency and Public-Private Dialogue Forum processes. That’s the gateway and it’s something we need to deal with urgently – otherwise our lunch will be stolen. We’ve been looking at each action in isolation, but all of this must come together at a higher level.”

And through the public-private dialogue forum, he added, Government has demonstrated that it can legislate thoughtfully: “We’ve been able to work through key legislation such as the Minerals Regulation Commission, the Geological and Minerals Bureau, and the Local Content statutory instrument – and having a transparent and consensus-based process has led to better policy stability. A lot of credit goes to Government for continuing to incentivise the sector under the extreme duress of the debt situation, with the Minister of Finance removing duties on capital equipment imports into mining operations.”

Mr Chilembo says that the next Government needs to continue to improve compliance countrywide, including environmental, social, safety, and tax compliance.

“The Minerals Regulation Commission needs to be nationally present but locally felt – you have to really feel that there’s a risk of being caught and sanctioned,” he said.

Mr Mukutuma added: “The next Government should review the licensing framework to ensure licence holders comply with the licences issued and inactive licences are revoked to open up ground for new investment. This would take away one of the major encumbrances to investment in exploration.”

The stakes are high, and Zambia’s risk premium is still in double digits. “Tight regulation will further drop the country’s risk premium – and once you get that drop, even the cost of implementing power infrastructure projects drops,” said Mr Chilembo. “It will have a domino effect.”

“Tight regulation will further drop the country’s risk premium – and once you get that drop, even the cost of implementing power infrastructure projects drops,” said Mr Chilembo. “It will have a domino effect.”

Value addition and power go hand in hand

The aspiration to move beyond raw copper exports – to process, refine, and manufacture on Zambian soil – is widely shared, and often discussed. Mr Mukutuma explained that incentivising investment in energy is key to moving Zambia into a middle-to-high income economy.

Mr Musonda also pointed out that value addition was dependent on having plentiful electricity.

“In the initial stages, we can import the skills and bring the technology. What should be locally available is electricity and raw materials – and we must have those.”

This is a prerequisite that cannot be skipped. “We need to focus on building interconnectivity to the Southern African and East African power pools, increasing hydro generation in the northern watershed, and diversification of energy sources,” said Mr Chilembo. “It is worthless talking about value addition unless there’s a surplus of power.”

Zambia is not yet in that position, but the direction of travel is right. “We don’t expect to add value to everything overnight,” offered Mr Musonda. “We have to go systematically, step by step, learn useful lessons, and adjust accordingly.”

The road ahead

Stakeholders on the ground view Government’s achievements as a restoration of order, credibility, and long-term thinking in the stewardship of Zambia’s most important economic sector. The task for whoever governs next is to hold course.

“The policy direction of the last four years has been clear, sequenced, and credible to capital markets,” said Mr Musonda. “What the sector needs from here is institutional follow-through – delivery against the plan that has been set out. That is what compounds.”

Mr Chilembo added: “When you get these things right – corridors, infrastructure add-ons, local content – everything else begins to make more sense in that growth environment.”

Mfikeyi Makayi: ‘Mining is needed by everyone’

Zambia's Mines

April 28, 2026

KoBold Metals breaks ground on the Mingomba Mine near Chililabombwe in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province on 29 April 2026. The project is targeting 300,000 annual tonnes of copper by the early 2030s, in a significant contribution to Government’s three million tonne target.

In Part 3 of this exclusive interview with KoBold Metals Africa’s CEO, Ms Mfikeyi Makayi reflects on Mingomba’s contribution to Zambia and her journey to get where she is today, and offers advice for those hoping to succeed in the mining industry.

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In an interview with Mining For Zambia, Josh Goldman talked about what he expects the Mingomba project’s contribution to Zambia to be, mentioning a) employment and b) a contribution to Zambia’s national objective to increase copper production to three million tonnes annually. Do you have anything to add to the contributions that you hope to see KoBold make to the country?

Josh’s responses sum up the company’s contribution to Zambia. Taxes will be another major contribution to Zambia. But it’s important to note that, when people think about employment, it’s more than direct jobs at Mingomba. It’s also all the indirect economic activity and opportunities and services required to support operations – from Information and Communication Technology, to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, to transportation, construction, housing, education, utilities – and this collective increase in purchasing power will cascade across industries and increase the taxpayer base.

This is a multi-decade venture that will have many stakeholders in the conversation, and it’s going to be transformational for the town of Chililabombwe. Mingomba’s contribution speaks directly to economic growth, and it’s important to stress that.

Investing in education also seems to be a big priority for KoBold. Tell us more about the partnerships that the company has set up with local and international institutions, and how they will help to cultivate talent and prepare Zambians for the workforce.

A modern mine will require a lot of automation to run efficiently and profitably. Automation potentially means doing more remote work with machines. It’s kind of like the changes we saw from the agricultural revolution into the industrial revolution.

We’re at the phase in the world where data and datasets are a major lever in many science and business decisions, in our case exploration decisions. It’s important to consider what that means for a geologist of today and what skills they need to have.

KoBold has established a partnership through Stanford University and the Copperbelt University, and the University of Zambia. We want to make sure that the geoscientists and geologists who will be graduating in the next couple of years are taught master’s degree-level data science and geoscience to enable industry fundamental transformation on how we can learn more about the earth’s geology.

Directly in Mingomba’s community, literacy levels and teacher to pupil ratios are not where we need them to be. With such a youthful African population, we have to think of kids who are going to be university graduates and tradesmen in the future. We risk having a large youthful workforce that isn’t prepared enough skills-wise, and that will affect the rate of economic transformation. Projects become slower to deliver.

It really starts with policy, and the conversation has to happen now: at a private sector, company, and university level. Partnering with Stanford is also helping Zambian lecturers understand how companies like KoBold that are doing a lot of innovation can help Zambia to catch up with the rest of the world. We’ve seen this technology race happening at a global level but here in Africa, what are we doing about it? The humans will be there, but will they have the skills?

We are supporting 10 students from the University of Zambia and the Copperbelt University, who will be co-taught by Stanford staff at a master’s level. KoBold is sponsoring the students and has an advisory role in this. The program commenced in January 2025.

“Partnering with Stanford is also helping Zambian lecturers understand how companies like KoBold that are doing a lot of innovation can help Zambia to catch up with the rest of the world. We’ve seen this technology race happening at a global level but here in Africa, what are we doing about it? The humans will be there, but will they have the skills?”

Our internship program also helped us find 11 brilliant young Zambians in various fields who rotated end-to-end across the business. They all had additional training in financial literacy, coding with Python, public speaking, and other self-development training. Honing future talent and actively providing mentorship is something we want to engrain in our day-to-day business.

We also have a more recent partnership with research professors at the University of Zambia and the University of California, Berkeley, through which KoBold is funding independent research institutions called the CEGA project (Center for Effective Global Action). The research will be focused on the socioeconomic and financial impacts that mining in Zambia has on individuals, households and nearby communities. Often mines do CSR and in-house reports and impact check – but we are approaching this with deep academic expertise, independent of KoBold’s opinion, and Mingomba gets to be a seed for this.

Upon accepting the position as CEO, you said in an interview: “Mining is something that will drive our economy into the future if we get this right.” What do you mean by that?

I mean that this will require a collective effort from every stakeholder affected. That includes everything from Governments – with stable policy and good governance – to private sector-driven activities that create real value and growth.

It also includes the healthy human resources required for labour and skills, the education sector that’s preparing the mining talent of the future by integrating technology, the communities we reside in and their social development, and the media – who are the voice for transparency and justice in the industry.

Mining is needed by everyone, that’s a fact. Think about every piece of material we have: if it’s not grown naturally, it’s mined.

In Part 1 of this interview, you mentioned some of the lessons that you’ve gained during the course of your career – including your view that becoming a leader is “a mindset” and “a continuous and highly iterative process.”

Can you speak more about your journey in the mining sector – from FQM Kansanshi, to Barloworld, and KoBold – and how each of these eras shaped your path into leadership and management?

I started out in the maintenance section of Kansanshi’s process plant, doing light civil works and plant improvements. It was great to build bolt-on improvements to a dynamic process plant as Kansanshi was increasing its plant throughput. After a few years of that, I moved across to the mining division and started in the training department, learning every machine under the eye of technical trainers. This is where miners are built! I learnt how to operate machines – particularly, blasthole drills – and I got certified and permitted to operate drilling equipment in the pit. I also got my blaster’s certificate. Working as a miner, you learn the grit behind shifts and running production. You can’t skip this step.

“I got certified and permitted to operate drilling equipment in the pit. I also got my blaster’s certificate. Working as a miner, you learn the grit behind shifts and running production. You can’t skip this step.”

Three years later, I got the opportunity to move into the global internal audit division at FQM, and that exposed me to internal audit and finance professionals. I worked on audits of FQM’s global operations in Finland, Australia, Panama, Mauritania, and the London office on two-week assignments. This taught me what I call “the business of mining”. It was very eye-opening and I became a sponge in learning about auditing mining operations. My chartered accountant colleagues were very patient with me in learning international accounting standards and applications! It also helped me compare and contrast jurisdictional differences in mining more clearly.

I left FQM amicably and joined Barloworld Equipment Zambia Ltd as an Assistant Operations Manager at the Kitwe office. I can say this phase of my career was enlightening in that it added the mining equipment services dimension to my resume. I was given key mining accounts to support the aftersales strategies and win business by selling Caterpillar products and solutions.

Firstly, sales jobs are life-changing. If you can sell in a tough market, you can do many things – but you first have to know your customer. I was first given the Mopani Copper Mines account and the Kagem account. A year later, I was promoted to Operations Manager for Zambia, and my portfolio widened to all mines and key construction clients. These included my former employer (FQM Kansanshi and Trident), Barrick Lumwana, Grizzly Mining, Dangote Cement Zambia, Kascco Zambia, and the Zambia National Service, a branch of the military.

You learn that each customer is different, and competition is stiff. It was a buyers’ market with regard to mining and construction sales solutions. Product differentiation was growing in the technology side of hard iron and if you lose a large mining deal, your aftersales business is out for the life of that product – and for some of these large 100+ tonne machines, that can mean more than 7-10 years! You walk into a customer meeting as a competitor is walking out, and as you’re walking out, another competitor is walking in. It was cut-throat, but you have to win business ethically and fairly.

It wasn’t all rosy, as my health was compromised. I burnt out in 2019 and was hospitalized on my 35th birthday, a few months after my mother passed away from cancer. That was an eye-opener for me to take better care of myself.

After that I adopted a holistic lifestyle of balance in my self-care, diet and wellness habits. I spend as much time as I can in my home village in Eastern Zambia, and travel to local nature spots across Zambia a lot. I also set hard boundaries in my work-personal life to ensure I’m helpful to others around me and myself.

In 2020, I was promoted to Country Manager during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a very tough time for the company. My first task was to restructure the business, reduce the workforce, and execute turnaround plans. A year later, we delivered on some priority goals, cultivated a great team and won business back in sales, market share, and profitability. I was also proud that we had a fully Zambian-led management team of excellent talent.

During this time, I also started an Executive MBA program with Lagos Business School in Nigeria, which I completed a year after joining KoBold. Studying and learning business in West Africa stretched my mind in terms of what’s possible on this continent. The hustle of studying in a top-tier African university and a country with a massive economy and population that’s known to be highly competitive was one of my best personal and networking experiences.

I’m now at the genesis side of mining, in a science and technology-driven exploration company, building a large underground mine. We’ve entered the DR Congo and have set out our operations there. All those years when I look back prepared me for looking broadly at opportunities across sectors in Africa.

Mining Business Africa described your appointment as CEO as “breaking a ceiling” in a male-dominated sector. What advice do you have for those hoping to succeed in the mining industry?

Mining is not limited to people who studied mining-related fields, and many of our KoBold staff come from several seemingly divergent sectors. To be part of the sector, people must be willing to study or take up roles in areas like Exploration, Computer Science, Finance, Legal, HR, Operations, Engineering, Commerce – or even Political Science and International Relations. It’s not only engineers that become mining CEOs – in fact, many accountants become Mining CEOs!

Success in the industry is relative, there’s no arriving. Mining has been around for centuries and will be around for a long time in the future. The question is how can we make our natural environment and quality of life better at an individual and societal level? Within the mining space, there are opportunities to do this.

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This is the third instalment in Mining For Zambia’s three-part interview series with Ms Mfikeyi Makayi. Read Part 1 here and 2 here.

Why Hitachi chose Kansanshi to trial the biggest battery electric vehicle on the planet

Zambia's Mines

April 23, 2026

On 15 April 2026, senior Hitachi executives, Zambian government officials, and journalists gathered at Kansanshi Mine in North-Western Province for a showcase of the world’s largest battery electric dump truck – the Hitachi EH4000 AC3. Mining For Zambia looks at what brought this moment about – and what it means for the future of mining in Zambia, and beyond.

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What is a “battery electric dump truck”?

The EH4000 AC3 is, in most respects, identical to the diesel electric Hitachi trucks already operating at Kansanshi. It’s the same size and the same build, with the same 220-tonne payload capacity – making it the largest battery electric vehicle on the planet. The crucial difference is under the hood: where a conventional truck carries a diesel engine worth upwards of half a million US dollars, this one carries a massive bank of batteries and cooling systems. There is no engine at all.

The truck was jointly developed by Hitachi and ABB, the Swiss electrification and automation company. It charges in two ways: through a pantograph – a mechanical arm on the front of the truck that connects to overhead trolley lines while in motion – and through regenerative braking, which recovers energy as the truck descends a ramp and returns it to the battery. “The truck charges going up the haulage ramp, and charges coming back down the ramp,” explained Mr Rees Magrath, Kansanshi’s Mine Operations Manager. When it’s operating away from the trolley line – manoeuvring at the dump or travelling along a mining bench – it simply runs on its onboard battery. Unlike Teslas or other electric cars, it doesn’t use a stationary charging point at all.

Why Kansanshi?

When Hitachi Construction Machinery went looking for a test site for its EH4000 AC3, it wasn’t looking for any mine. It had very specific criteria.

Because the truck charges dynamically, it requires overhead trolley lines. Kansanshi has spent years developing and refining its trolley assist system. It works by utilising electric cables that are strung above haul roads, allowing trucks to draw power directly from the line through a pantograph, reducing or eliminating diesel use on those sections. For that to work at the scale this trial required, a mine needs more than willingness. It needs infrastructure, expertise, and a proven track record of running trolley systems efficiently in a live production environment.

Kansanshi has all of that. First Quantum Minerals first implemented trolley assist at the mine in 2011, making it one of the earliest adopters of the technology in global mining. Today, the mine runs more than 10 kilometres of trolley lines and trolley assist has become, in the words of Mr Magrath, “one of our biggest competitive advantages as an operation.” Hitachi chose Kansanshi not for any single factor, but for the combination: the scale and quality of its trolley infrastructure, the standard of its haul road network, and years of operational experience running dynamic charging systems at high availability and utilisation.

The relationship between Hitachi and First Quantum was also central to the decision. The two companies have worked together for over 15 years across the full range of mining equipment. That history of collaboration, trust, and shared technical development made Kansanshi the natural choice. “FQM’s Kansanshi mine not only has existing trolley infrastructure, but FQM are a leader in the industry with their ability to deploy new or expanded trolley infrastructure,“ said Mr Ray Kitic, Vice President of Hitachi Construction Machinery’s Mining Business Unit.

“This is not a proof of concept in a non-operational mine sense,” said Mr Gordon White, First Quantum’s Director of Mine Operations and Technology. “The BEV is being challenged in a real mining operation.”

The fact that Hitachi chose Zambia ahead of other global jurisdictions is something the country can take genuine pride in.

The Hitachi EH4000 battery electric dump truck attached to Kansanshi’s overhead trolley lines

The energy equation

“The core opportunity is to remove diesel consumption and emissions from mining operations without sacrificing safety, productivity, payload or increasing costs,” Mr White said.

The numbers bear that out. A conventional diesel truck climbing a 10% gradient while hauling a full load burns upwards of 400 litres of fuel per hour, whereas a diesel electric truck on trolley assist reduces that to around 80 litres. A full battery electric truck drawing from overhead lines and charged by renewable energy turns that into zero. And, unlike a truck using trolley assist, it isn’t tethered to the line. It can go anywhere the battery allows.

Zambia’s energy mix makes this a particularly compelling case for decarbonisation. With almost 85% of the country’s electricity generated by hydro power, Zambia is better placed than almost anywhere else in the world to make it work.

A conventional diesel truck climbing a 10% gradient while hauling a full load burns upwards of 400 litres of fuel per hour. A diesel electric truck on trolley assist reduces that to around 80 litres. A full battery electric truck drawing from overhead lines turns that into zero.

How the trial worked

The EH4000 AC3 arrived at Kansanshi in January 2024 and was assembled on site. The trial that followed was deliberately phased. It began with basic forward and back drives on a flat pad at the workshop – with the truck painted a distinct colour so that everyone on site would immediately recognise it as something new and different. Over weeks and months, it was gradually integrated into the live fleet.

That process required adaptation across the mine. Operators, maintenance teams, mine planners, and the Minerals Regulation Commission – the government body overseeing health and safety in mining – all had to engage with a technology that no one had encountered before. New risk assessments were drawn up: high-voltage lock-out procedures, battery management protocols, and the possibility – however rare – of an electrical fire rather than a fuel-related one. Emergency response teams worked through exactly how they would respond, including what fire suppression products are effective on a battery system.

“The human being is one of the biggest levers and risks to any change management. We were fortunate that we had a lot of people who were really keen to see this change happen – and as a result, it was fairly seamless to bring something in that was just so unknown to everyone,” Mr Magrath said.

The truck was eventually running in full production cycles alongside Kansanshi’s diesel electric fleet. It matched its conventional counterparts on payload and operability – and proved considerably quieter, making for a more comfortable operating environment. On flat surfaces, performance was equivalent. On ramps, where the battery and drive wheels currently compete for the same energy from the overhead line, the truck is somewhat slower than its diesel electric counterpart – and closing that gap is the focus of the next phase of development.

“The lessons learnt from harnessing regenerative braking have been meaningful,” Mr White noted. The first phase of the trial – verifying that the truck could operate safely and effectively in a real mining operation – has been a success. What comes next is about proving it can match, and eventually surpass, its diesel counterpart in every measurable dimension.

What the journey to electric haulage means for Zambia’s mines

The transition from diesel to electric haulage is not a switch that gets flipped. It is, as Mr Magrath described it, a journey – one that Kansanshi began more than a decade ago with the first installation of trolley lines, and which is now reaching a new frontier.

That journey changes the skills a mine needs. Fleet electrification does not reduce the number of people required – it expands the range. High voltage electricians, power systems engineers, data and diagnostic specialists, HVAC technicians managing battery cooling systems, mechatronics and instrumentation engineers: these are roles that barely existed in mining a generation ago. “The range of people on a mine site today is just so much broader than it’s ever been,” Mr Magrath pointed out. Kansanshi has already lived through one version of this transition – the introduction of autonomous drilling at FQM’s Trident mine – and the pattern holds: not replacement, but evolution.

“It all goes back to that non-negotiable: haulage needs to be efficient for the operation to be successful,” Mr Magrath added.

Fleet electrification does not reduce the number of people required – it expands the range.

For Zambia, the significance runs deeper. The showcase represented more than a commercial milestone – it reflected a convergence of government, industry and technology partners around a shared agenda. Mr Tristan Pascall, FQM’s CEO, described the project as the result of years of research, development and collaboration between all three, noting that it placed Zambia at the forefront of global mining technology. That alignment extends to workforce development: approximately 96% of FQM’s workforce in Zambia is made up of Zambian citizens, including at senior management level.

The country is already ahead of most mining jurisdictions in the world in the practical adoption of battery electric haulage at scale. That positioning matters as global demand for copper – and scrutiny of how it’s produced – continues to grow. End consumers and investors increasingly want critical minerals extracted responsibly, with genuine reductions in emissions and fossil fuel dependence. Operations that can demonstrate exactly that will have an advantage.

“Zambia has adopted this technology ahead of other jurisdictions in a real mining operation,” Mr White said. “This is a credit to the country and its regulators, which positions itself at the forefront of a new technology that can potentially change the mining landscape.”

Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, Mr Hapenga Kabeta, echoed that sense of national significance at the showcase. “As Government, this partnership is one which we are very proud of, as it puts Zambia on the map as a leading mining destination where technology is at the frontline of success,” he said.

“There’s been a perception that going electric means compromise: compromise on productivity, reliability, or cost. What we have demonstrated here in Zambia is that it doesn’t have to be the case,“ Mr Kitic said.

Hitachi’s decision to trial its most advanced machine here was not an accident. It was a reflection of what Kansanshi – and Zambia – have spent years building.

Beyond box ticking: ‘local content’ in Zambian mining

Economic Contribution

April 13, 2026

Close-up Of A Businessman Calculating Invoice Using Calculator At Workplace

Zambia’s Government has long grappled with finding ways to increase local participation in the country’s economy. On 1 January 2026, with the introduction of Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 68, a ‘top-down’ approach to Local Content in the mining sector was formally implemented for the first time. It requires mining and mining-related companies to meet a series of very ambitious targets, including reserving 100% of all ‘non-core services’ – from catering to security and haulage – for local companies. On 15 April 2026 – just three months since the SI was put in place – companies in the sector will be required to submit compliance reports to Zambia’s Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development.

What many Zambians do not know, however, is that this is not new ground. Long before SI No. 68 was implemented, Zambia’s largest mines have been doing precisely this: working with local suppliers wherever possible, nurturing new ones, investing in education and supplier development programmes, and developing the skills and infrastructure needed to build a genuine local supply base.

In this article, we take stock of the situation on the ground by looking at the ways in which mining companies have been steadily moving towards these goals over the last decade. We also take a step back and consider the importance of local participation in its many forms.

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Handvic’s steps to success

The Zambian-owned Handvik Investment Limited’s partnership with the FQM-run Kansanshi Mining Plc is one example of what organically increasing ‘local content’ looks like in practice.

Handvik began operating in 2009 with a single employee. In 2011, when Kansanshi was looking for vehicle hire services, it registered as a supplier. “We seized that opportunity and delivered a reliable service, which helped us build trust,” said Handvik’s Director Manager, Mr Victor Muyelu.

A three-year contract for mining and construction equipment hire followed. Today, Handvik employs more than 300 people. Crucially, the company won that first contract years before any statutory instrument or local content quota motivated Kansanshi to hire them. They won it by being competitive.

Companies like Handvic are role models for many a Zambian entrepreneur but, as their story suggests, there are no shortcuts to success. Without the opportunity to grow with and alongside Kansanshi – incrementally providing more services, and steadily proving themselves to be a reliable partner – the growth of Handvic’s business is unlikely to have evolved in a sustainable way.

Building an ecosystem

Three months since the SI’s introduction, mining companies across the country have been working hard to fill any necessary gaps. But crucially, they must strike a balance between doing what they can to comply with new quotas and ensuring they don’t slow the mineral production on which Zambia’s economy so heavily depends.

“Many mines are going flat-out to demonstrate that they’ve done everything in their power to meet these milestones,” said Mr Andrew Chibuye, Country Senior Partner at PwC, speaking at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in February. Several mining companies, he noted, are offering vendor financing arrangements to help local suppliers secure business in the sector.

Once a supplier has won business and secured an offtake agreement with a mine, that typically gives financial institutions the assurance they need to consider providing structured finance or other support. This was the case with Kascco Limited, a major mining contractor in Zambia that supplies heavy equipment across four operational sites, including FQM’s Sentinel Copper Mine.

Through a partnership with Stanbic Bank Zambia, the company received structured finance to expand its mining equipment. Stanbic Bank Zambia has played a big role in helping Kascco grow from a small equipment hire company in 2005, into a company that employs over 1,500 people, and empowers many more through its supply chain. Today it is Zambia’s largest mining service provider.

‘Local content isn’t always local’

A different kind of local content story unfolded in June 2025, when President Hakainde Hichilema officially opened Hitachi Construction Machinery Zambia’s expanded Remanufacturing and Engine Facility in Lusaka Province. It’s a $25 million investment that came about directly because of Hitachi’s strong 15-year relationship with Kansanshi Mine.

Previously, when a dump truck engine failed, it had to be sent to South Africa for rebuilding – a process that took several weeks and cost the mine significant downtime. Now the entire process can take place in Zambia. The Remanufacturing and Engine Facility will create over 100 specialised jobs and, because it draws in equipment from neighbouring mining countries – including the DRC and Mozambique – it positions Zambia as a regional hub for high-value industrial services.

The creation of the Hitachi facility is significant beyond the jobs and investment figures. It’s the result of consistent, long-term demand from a world-class mining operation – demand that eventually made a major capital investment in Zambia commercially viable for a global company. President Hichilema spoke at the facility’s launch about the mining sector’s contribution in terms of “job creation, skills development, and increased participation of Zambians in the value chain.”

This distinction – between local content that grows organically from real commercial relationships, and local content that is mandated from above – matters.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Zambia’s expanded Remanufacturing and Engine Facility

‘Out-of-the-box’ local content

Local content is not a single thing. It encompasses the sourcing of goods and services from local companies, the employment of local workers, the transfer of skills, investment in supplier development, and the growth of value-added industries that process minerals or manufacture goods rather than simply importing them.

The Kalumbila Multi-Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ), designated in 2022 in North-Western Province, illustrates this broader vision particularly well. Designed to sit adjacent to – rather than within – FQM’s Trident Project mines, the MFEZ offers incentives including duty-free capital equipment imports and profit retention on exports for new businesses. Its explicit goal is value addition: encouraging companies to manufacture or process goods locally rather than import finished products.

Mr Lawrence Makumbi, a North-Western Province based supplier of mining equipment and services who’s supplied Sentinel mine since it opened, captured the aspiration: “Most of the stuff we use at the mines comes from South Africa. I’d like to get to the point where, instead of buying finished products, I buy raw materials and start making this stuff here.”

Mr Lawrence Makumbi, a North-Western Province based supplier of mining equipment and services who’s supplied Sentinel mine since it opened, captured the aspiration: “Most of the stuff we use at the mines comes from South Africa. I’d like to get to the point where, instead of buying finished products, I buy raw materials and start making this stuff here.”

The ripple effects of that shift, he says, are the real prize. “Transporters will need to come in (…) hardware suppliers – all of those are spillover jobs that will go to Zambian suppliers. There will be more jobs created, there’ll be more money in circulation – and more workers means more taxes for Government.”

‘Best practice’ in the industry

At the 2025 Zambia Mining and Investment Insaka, discussions between industry and government reflected the same spirit: increasing local content and developing value addition in-country requires an ecosystem – not just willing buyers and sellers, but business developers, access to finance, skills pipelines, and public-private collaboration.

If increasing economic participation in the sector is the goal, Zambia can learn from Chile’s successful approach, which focuses on targeted incentives to encourage local business participation and improve knowledge transfer and innovation, rather than rigid quotas, according to the World Bank.

Chile’s Mining Skills Strategy brought together 12 large mining companies, major suppliers, training institutions, and government ministries to forecast workforce needs and justify public investment in education. The result was a collaborative, market-responsive approach to local economic participation – one that built real capability rather than paper compliance.

Martin Lokanc, Senior Mining Specialist at the World Bank, has been one of the clearest voices in recent years on what well-designed local content policy needs to achieve.

Speaking last April about the World Bank Group and the Government of Zambia’s jointly created ‘roadmap’ – Repositioning Zambia to Leverage Energy Transition Minerals for Economic Transformation: A Roadmap – Mr Lokanc pointed out that “promot[ing] local supplier development and adopt tried and tested ‘local content’ policies that enable SMEs to create backward and forward linkages” will be key in creating an ecosystem that supports both value addition and a higher degree of local participation.

But Lokanc also brings a caution. Speaking at a panel discussion at this year’s Mining Indaba he warned that, without clarifying the precise objectives behind Local Content policies, there can be unintended – and often undesired – consequences. One of them is increasing local ownership on the surface, even if that comes in the form of “middlemen” who essentially import goods without adding value. “Every government has to start by asking themselves, what is the objective? Is it just about national ownership of supplier companies, or is it about actual value addition happening in countries? Would you trade one off for the other?” he asked.

It’s a question worth sitting with as Zambia’s mines prepare to submit their first reports under SI No. 68 – and Zambia is not alone in grappling with it. Across the continent, a wave of national legislation since 2024 has sought to capture more value from mineral resources – through export restrictions, local processing mandates, and procurement thresholds.

Zambia Chamber of Mines CEO Mr Sokwani Chilembo, also speaking at this year’s Mining Indaba, framed the challenge as a need to “hold course” while continuously improving the jurisdiction’s competitiveness. Zambia needs to strike “a balance between tightening regulation and compliance with the requisite caution and care that keeps mining growing, attractive, stable and competitive,” he added.

The targets have been set. The reporting has begun. What happens next will depend not just on whether mines meet the numbers, but on whether the numbers, in time, translate into the kind of durable, skills-rich, value-adding local economy that Zambia has long been working towards – one supplier, one factory, one skilled mechanic at a time.

Zambia’s rising safety ambitions

Zambia's Mines

March 17, 2026

Zambia is preparing to host the most prestigious event in global mine safety next month: the International Mines Rescue Competition (IMRC). This is the first time the biennial event will be hosted in Zambia – and the first time in its more than 100-year history that it’s being held on the African continent.

The IMRC brings together elite mine rescue teams from around the world to showcase best practice, advanced techniques, and innovations in emergency response. This year’s edition will be co-hosted by FQM Kansanshi Mine in Solwezi and Mopani Copper Mines in Mufulira from 25 April to 7 May 2026, with opening and closing ceremonies in Kitwe and Livingstone.

“Being selected to host this globally respected event reflects the world’s confidence and trust in Zambia’s mining industry, its governance and institutions, and its strong commitment to safety excellence,” said CEO of the Zambia Chamber of Mines, Mr Sokwani Chilembo.

The competition also raises the bar industry-wide. “The competition is aimed at raising emergency rescue standards in the mining industry through practical drills and knowledge sharing among participating teams,” said First Quantum Minerals Group Safety Manager Mr Eric Cousins.

Meaningful milestones

This milestone wasn’t reached in isolation. It’s the result of deliberate, sustained work to raise safety standards across Zambia’s mining sector.

Last month, Kagem Mining Limited (Kagem) was recognised by the Minerals Regulation Commission for four consecutive years without a Lost Time Injury (LTI) – meaning four years in which no worker was hurt badly enough to miss a shift. It’s the first time any mine in Zambia has received this recognition.

Kagem was also named Zambia’s Best Mine in Safety for the second year running at the 9th National Conference on Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) in October 2025. “The award means so much to us, not just as an accolade but because it represents the safety of our employees who have been able to return to their families after each shift,” said Kagem Board Chair Dr Sixtus Mulenga at the award ceremony in Kitwe last year.

Dr Kabeta and the Kagem team receiving the 2025 Mine Safety award

Behind these numbers and awards are training programmes, stringent safety protocols, and a commitment to what the industry calls a “zero harm” culture: the goal of eliminating work-related fatalities and serious injuries entirely.

Mr Elite Mhone, Director of Mine Inspections and Audits at the Minerals Regulation Commission said: “Four years without Lost Time Injury is not an easy achievement, and it requires deliberate and consistent planning, review, and follow-through.”

Behind these numbers and awards are training programmes, stringent safety protocols, and a commitment to what the industry calls a “zero harm” culture.

A broader shift across the sector

Government stakeholders, the Zambia Chamber of Mines, and international partners formally launched the country’s Vision Zero initiative for the mining industry at last year’s national HSE conference. It’s part of a global prevention strategy, championed by the International Social Security Association (ISSA), that promotes a culture of prevention and systemic safety interventions.

Speaking at the HSE conference, Kagem’s Head of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality, Mr Benedict Bukoka said: “At Kagem, we believe that the adoption of Vision Zero and a ‘zero harm’ culture in mining will continue to change the trajectory and perspective of safety and health in Zambia’s mining sector for the better.”

Mr Mhone connected safety directly to Zambia’s larger ambitions: “As Zambia looks to accelerate development and strengthen its economic standing, increased productivity in the mining sector will be paramount – but this must not come at the expense of our workers.”

Mining-driven development

All four Zambian towns that are set to host this ‘world cup of mine rescue’ will welcome a mixture of delegates from eleven countries, including elite mine rescue teams, technical experts, and executives from Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Australia, Poland, India, China, and Côte d’Ivoire.

Zambia will be represented at the IMRC by four mine rescue teams from Mopani Copper Mines PLC, NFCA, Lubambe Copper Mine, and Konkola Copper Mines.

Being selected to host this event represents a broader national opportunity beyond mine rescue competition, Mr Chilembo pointed out. “While the IMRC is fundamentally about mine rescue and emergency response, IMRC 2026 is far more than a competition for us – it is a national showcasing opportunity. It allows us to market and expose Zambia’s rich culture, hospitality, and tourism potential to more than 500 international delegates expected to attend,” he said.

Zambians have watched as Solwezi has become a more regular host of major events in the last few years. The inaugural Kansanshi Marathon was held here in May 2023, which saw over a thousand runners take to the streets of Solwezi. The mayor, Mr Remmy Kalepa, pointed out the economic benefits of hosting events like this, to which the town’s fully-booked hotels and lodges were testament. Two years later, the number of participants had doubled.

Economic growth in Solwezi now extends far beyond the mine that sparked it. Secondary industries like manufacturing and engineering, which grew up servicing Kansanshi, have been followed by hotels, restaurants, and other tertiary businesses. All of this creates a broader array of opportunities for Zambians.

Investing in Zambia

The mining industry has committed more than US$2.5 million to hosting the IMRC, with new infrastructure and specialised training facilities developed specifically for it.

Earlier this month, Kansanshi Mine Plc Superintendent for Emergency Services Mr Christopher Hale confirmed the company’s readiness. “The mine is ready to co-host the international competition and has already begun making logistical and technical preparations,” Mr Hale said.

The event is expected to improve collaboration with international partners in mine safety and emergency response, he added – and, crucially, to further strengthen safety practices in Zambia’s mining sector.

For the Zambians – and their families – who spend their days keeping this vital industry running, stronger safety practices that make a ‘zero harm’ culture possible is, of course, the ultimate goal.

See also: Safety is a shared mindset

‘Holding course’ to get our minerals out the ground

Economic Contribution

February 21, 2026

President Hakainde Hichilema took to the stage at last week’s Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, marking his third appearance at the annual event as head of state. The President used his keynote speech as an opportunity to ‘report back’ on the investments that have been made into Zambia’s mining sector since his Government came to power in late 2021 – to the tune of US$12 billion dollars.

The four-day gathering at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, which draws together investors, political leaders, commodity traders and companies across the mining value chain, is a useful way to take the temperature of the proverbial room. In 2022, just nine months after his New Dawn Government came to power, Mr Hichilema’s keynote address crackled with the kind of optimism that investors had long stopped expecting from Lusaka – and, to a large extent, the message that Zambia was open for business landed that year.

This year, excitement continued to bubble around the Zambia pavilion, which had once again expanded in size. But, beneath the buoyancy, a clear message came through: having minerals that remain in the ground won’t get us any closer to economic transformation.

Mining For Zambia asked key delegates about the attitude toward Zambia this year, and their thoughts around how the country can make the most of the ‘critical mineral opportunity’ that has the potential to transform the economy.

***

According to Mr Andrew Chibuye, Country Senior Partner at PwC, geopolitical tensions have created a greater intensity in the critical mineral discussion. “The trend is greater and greater demand, and greater and greater competition for the resources – and African countries like Zambia are centre stage. The question is how do we ensure we make the most of the opportunity?”

“The appetite for investment is huge,” he points out. “But what we are faced with now is a scramble to try and find what’s in the ground.”

“The appetite for investment is huge,” he points out. “But what we are faced with now is a scramble to try and find what’s in the ground.”

Mr Anthony Mukutuma, Country Director at First Quantum Minerals Zambia made a similar point during this year’s very well-attended ‘Country Showcase.’ “We talk about the goal of getting to three million tonnes of copper production per year. But the first step in that journey is exploration. If all the [mining] assets that have been stressed come back into play, Zambia’s copper output will only go up to about 1.6 million tonnes – so we’re still way short of the three million tonnes that we’re looking for.”

FQM funded an aerial geological survey of Copperbelt Province in 2023, and handed the findings over to Zambia’s Minister of Mines and Mineral Development Paul Kabuswe during a ceremony in January 2025. Geological surveys are by no means ‘treasure maps,’ but sharing data like this does give investors a sense of which parts of the country they may wish to take a chance exploring. Meanwhile, the Government’s own funding of a national aerial survey of the country is ongoing – with a goal of completing all mapping by the end of the year, Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development, Hon. Paul Kabuswe said at the Indaba. But Government is still sitting on the findings, despite requests from explorers that it be released incrementally so they can get to work.

“Making sure that more exploration is started also requires stability in the operating and regulatory space, so that investment can flow,” Mr Mukutuma said, addressing the Country Showcase attendees. “As most of you know, capital has got legs. If there’s no stability in Zambia, it’s not going to go there.”

Quantum Minerals Zambia, during the 'Country Showcase' at the 2026 Indaba — Mr Anthony Mukutuma, Country Director at First Quantum Minerals Zambia, speaking at the ‘Country Showcase’ at the 2026 Indaba

“As most of you know, capital has got legs. If there’s no stability in Zambia, it’s not going to go there.”

‘Progress through partnerships’

With an extended drought exposing the country’s heavy dependence on hydropower, it was no surprise that “energy” and “infrastructure” were on everybody’s lips at this year’s event.

“We are aware of the constraints around mining, including things like energy and infrastructure,” said Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited, Mr Mwindwa Siakalima. “That’s why we’re playing quite a big role in terms of how to utilise the other sectors to enable the growth of mining.”

The Chisamba Solar Project is one of the latest solutions – and a good example of “progress through partnerships,” which was this year’s Indaba’s theme.

“Energy is a key element to the growth of the country – but the mining sector in particular,” said Mr Siakalima. “We’ve partnered with GreenCo Power Services, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) and Kariba North Bank Extension (KNBE) on the Chisamba Solar Project, which is a 100 megawatt power plant.”

Stanbic’s role was providing financing of $71.5 to KNBE, and FQM is the offtaker of the power.

“This solar plant is providing a solution that will reduce the power deficit by 100 megawatts – and that power is going to the mining sector.”

Energy ambassadors

Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) is playing a key role in generating and transmitting power from alternative sources for the country’s energy-intensive mining sector. Once again, the power company had a very visible presence within the Zambia pavilion, alongside a wide range of sector players, including Mopani Copper Mines, ZANACO, and Zambia’s state mining company, ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH).

CEO of FNB Zambia, Ms Kapumpe Chola, shared her takeaways, too. “What we are seeing now is a clear increase in investor interest in Zambia,” she said. “Beyond the large players, we’re also seeing growing momentum among mid‑tier operators. Many of them are actively seeking opportunities and securing the resources needed to make meaningful capital investments. This signals broader sector confidence, not just at the top end of the market, but across the mining value chain.”

Value addition across the mining value chain

Zambia’s recently implemented Local Content regulations was one of the hot topics at the event. “Many mines are going flat-out to demonstrate that they’ve done everything in their power to meet these milestones,” said Mr Chibuye, who added that several mining companies are offering vendor financing arrangements to support local suppliers in securing business in the sector.

But the World Bank’s Martin Lokanc cautioned that, without clarifying the precise objectives behind Local Content policies, there can be unintended – and often undesired – consequences. One of them is increasing local ownership on the surface, even if that comes in the form of “middlemen” who essentially import goods without adding value. “Every government has to start by asking themselves, what is the objective? Is it just about national ownership of supplier companies, or is it about actual value addition happening in countries? Would you trade one off for the other?” he enquired, speaking at a panel discussion.

Speaking at a breakfast event hosted by the Association of Zambian Mineral Exploration Companies (AZMEC), Zambia Chamber of Mines CEO Mr Sokwani Chilembo emphasised the need to “hold course and continuously improve the jurisdiction’s competitiveness,” adding: “We need to strike a balance between tightening regulation and compliance with the requisite caution and care that keeps mining growing, attractive, stable and competitive.”

Another of the next big challenges is ensuring that our economy becomes diversified.

“Sustainable growth means making sure that every other sector of the economy is functioning,” said Mr Mukutuma. “To get to three million tonnes, we need to move about 815 million tonnes of ore through the crushers and mills – and that means we have to move about 2.5 million tonnes of waste. That’s a lot of business opportunities, if local companies are involved.”

However, becoming “overly dependent” on mining is a mistake, he added. “We need to grow mining, and other parts of our economy too. Otherwise, this is the irony: We will grow mining, and that will be our downfall. Most of you here that are old enough will remember what complete mineral dependence means for our country, when the cycle turns.”

Standing on our own two feet

Zambia's Mines

January 22, 2026

Handvik Investment Limited at Kansanshi Mine Zambia

Handvik Investment Limited started as a small business with just one employee in 2009. Today, the Zambian-owned company is a major contractor with over 300 employees.

The company’s big break came in 2011 when it registered as a supplier to Kansanshi, when the mine was looking for vehicle hire services. “We seized that opportunity and delivered a reliable service, which helped us build trust,” said Director Manager at Handvik Investment Limited, Mr Victor Muyelu.

Zambia became the latest African country to implement local content regulations in the mining sector from 1 January 2026. But ultimately, Handvic’s success comes down to standing on its own two feet in competition with other suppliers, both local and international, which all businesses must do if they are to succeed.

The small business was onboarded – and subsequently awarded a three-year contract for mining and construction equipment hire – years before any statutory instruments or local content quotas motivated Kansanshi to contract them.

Chile’s Mining Skills Strategy involves 12 large mining companies that account for 95 percent of copper production in Chile, major mine suppliers, training institutions, and the Ministries of Labour and Mining. This level of collaboration helped to forecast and plan for the upcoming needs and evolution of the employment market, and also provided the scale to justify public sector investment in education focusing on youth and women, where unemployment has been relatively high in Chile.

Indeed, supporting Zambians in developing the skills they need to participate economically has long been a focus at mines including Kagem emerald mine, and First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi and Trident mines. In Solwezi, Northwestern Province, First Quantum Minerals began running a Business Development Training Programme as far back as June 2010, to support the next generation of entrepreneurs in the country’s ‘new copperbelt’.

Kagem is looking to the future and funding Zambia’s first official ‘polytechnic’ – the state-of-the-art Chapula Polytechnic – which will equip local people from Lufwanyama and other areas surrounding the Kagem mine with skills that they can leverage to find employment, or set up businesses in a variety of industries.

“Nobody in today’s mining industry disputes the need to develop local input to the supply chain,” to use the words of Veston Malango, CEO of the Namibia Chamber of Mines, and a Zambian who grew up on the Copperbelt. He added: “However, clearly, mines themselves need to be thriving in order for there to be a big enough marketplace for growing local supplies.”

Watch as Mr Muyelu and his colleagues share more of Handvic’s story.

Looking back at mining in 2025

Zambia's Mines

December 22, 2025

It’s been an eventful year for mining in Zambia. We saw our readers engaging with voices from across the sector – from policymakers and industry leaders, to technical experts – all grappling with how mining can deliver sustainable growth while meeting rising expectations.

As we approach the end of the year, Mining for Zambia takes a moment to reflect on the articles and interviews we published that resonated the most – and why they matter.

How running became part of Solwezi’s DNA

Find out how FQM Kansanshi’s support for running – from coaching programmes in schools to the internationally accredited Kansanshi Marathon – has helped spark a community-wide fitness culture in Solwezi, inspiring young people, women and new clubs – while also producing standout athletes like marathon record-holder Elizabeth Mukoloma. Read more here.

“This isn’t just a one-day event. It’s shifting perspectives in our town about what’s possible, especially for youth and women.”

Local content isn’t always local: Hitachi in Zambia

Hitachi’s $25 million expansion of its Remanufacturing Facility – and addition of an Engine Facility – in Lusaka Province was an exciting moment for Zambia in June this year. Read about how this project strengthens the country’s mining supply chain, cuts equipment downtime, and develops highly specialised local skills here.

S3’s massive boost to copper production is on the way

Watch this short video to get a sense of how First Quantum Minerals’ $1.25 billion S3 expansion project at Kansanshi is poised to nearly double the mine’s copper output, creating significant jobs and business opportunities in the Solwezi region as it advances towards full commissioning.

Becoming a leader is a mindset

In Part 1 of this interview with Ms Mfikeyi Makayi, KoBold Metals Africa’s CEO reflects on becoming the first Zambian woman in the country to run an exploration company. She also shows us how curiosity, resilience and continuous learning all contribute to effective leadership in Zambia’s fast-evolving mining sector. Read it here.

“Zambia has been doing mechanised mining since the 1930s. Over the decades, we’ve seen nationalisation, privatisation, copper price crashes, and economic downturns and upturns. After all that, many people look around and ask, ‘What has mining actually done for us?’ There are two sides to the argument, and they both matter. Governance plays a huge role, too – it’s not just about the mining companies.”

Mfikeyi Makayi: a lifelong commitment to Zambia

KoBold Metals Africa CEO Ms Mfikeyi Makayi shares the company’s exciting plans in Part 2 of this exclusive interview. You’ll also read about her commitment to building local skills, strengthening institutions and delivering long-term value in Zambia.

Financial Flows: Where does the money from mining go?

How does one know exactly how much in taxes and mineral royalties mining companies pay for the minerals they mine? And how are Zambians to know whether Government received whatever amounts are due?

In this interview with the National Coordinator and Head of Secretariat at the Zambia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ZEITI), Mr Ian Mwiinga tells us where Zambian citizens can obtain independently-audited data about activities across the mineral value chain, and get the full picture of who our mineral wealth is benefitting.

Beyond the Bottom Line

In Part 2 of this interview, ZEITI’s Mr Ian Mwiinga explains how the organisation’s work goes far beyond reporting figures. He explains new metrics like the G‑Factor which reveal how much value stays in communities, and other ways to strengthen oversight and accountability across Zambia’s mining sector.

Mfikeyi Makayi: ‘A lifelong commitment to Zambia’

Zambia's Mines

December 3, 2025

It’s been a busy year for KoBold Metals. The exploration company has made new investments in mineral exploration, shared findings from its airborne geophysics surveys in the name of ‘open data’, and hit another new drilling record at Mingomba where it hopes to build the biggest copper mine in Zambian history.

In Part 2 of this exclusive interview, KoBold Metals Africa’s CEO Ms Mfikeyi Makayi shares some of the company’s exciting plans, talks about mining’s economic contribution to Zambia, and tells us how a lifelong commitment to her country helped to shape her career.

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What are some of your priorities as CEO that you’re most excited about at the moment?

Our three priorities are to build our global discovery machine, grow our portfolio of projects, and find innovative technological solutions to accelerate exploration efficiently and responsibly.

I’m excited about three key areas of our work: Digitize, Explore, and Develop.

In terms of digitization, over a year ago we embarked on a joint project with the Zambian Government through the Geological Survey Department. The aim is to digitize the geological archives to ensure that the country preserves historically-collected scientific knowledge – and also to advocate for making this accessible to the public. Access to publicly available data for research, educational and commercial purposes is a common practice globally, and leads to more exploration and mining investments. This is an area Zambia – and parts of Africa – has not utilized well in the opportunities to attract capital into our countries.

We also released data from our own Zambia Airborne Geophysics surveys that were flown over a tenement of ours – which is something we hope the Government will do too. The data we published on this page has been viewed 1,430 times and downloaded 538 times over the past eight months.

The vast and varied datasets gathered by governments and public institutions can provide a foundation for future exploration. This information ranges from regional geology and historical drill results, to high-resolution satellite imagery and geophysical surveys.

Publicly available information significantly reduces the initial capital burden of exploration and allows companies to rapidly evaluate large tracts of land, even in frontier areas with little recent activity. In an era where the pace and precision of discovery are increasingly driven by data quality and availability, open data sets the stage for exploration teams to make informed, transparent, and efficient decisions. We believe that by making high-quality data public, we accelerate not just our work – but the growth of the entire ecosystem around us.

In terms of exploring, we’ve continued to make investments in mineral exploration and, jointly with ZCCM-IH, we’ve logged yet another new drilling record at Mingomba. The team officially passed the 100,000 metre mark in total meters drilled at Mingomba in July this year.

We also partnered with Tertiary Minerals at the Konkola West project, drilling one of the deepest holes on the Zambian copperbelt which was over 2,700 metres deep. Beyond Zambia, our entry into the DR Congo presents an opportunity to consolidate the amazing geology and talent between the DR Congo and Zambia. Our greenfield exploration work in southern Namibia also continues, with a team of geoscientists gaining understanding on the mineral systems there.

Lastly, Mingomba is moving quickly into plans for construction, and our mine development key team members have been hired. We’re focused on fostering a strong corporate culture, and building a team with a mindset of excellence.

KoBold Metals Africa’s CEO Mfikeyi Makayi

During the groundbreaking ceremony at Mingomba, Co-Founder and President of KoBold Metals Josh Goldman called you “a leader with a lifelong commitment to her country.” You studied in the US and the UK before returning to Zambia. Was returning to Zambia to contribute the skills and know-how you gained abroad always part of the plan?

I’m incredibly proud to be Zambian and African, and I returned because it was always the goal. That’s the whole point: our families, or our nation, send their people out for training, as part of nation-building. At the time, I thought maybe I’d get more work experience in the US before returning, but nothing is linear. The 2008 Global Financial Crisis happened and companies were folding, so there were no opportunities in the US at that time.

Now that I’m here and I’ve charted a path for myself, I can see the opportunities that encourage multinationals to come to Africa – and they aren’t always obvious to Zambians. Going in the other direction is within people’s right, of course. The question is how to create an environment that encourages people to stay and develop their countries when they have something to offer.

Relocating to another province or smaller town for economic reasons is difficult for many but, if I’d stayed in Lusaka, I don’t know where my career would have gone. Moving to Solwezi in 2010 opened so many doors. Eventually, I moved to Ndola, Kitwe and now Chililabombwe and immersed myself in living in mining towns. I’ve enjoyed living on the Copperbelt. People will always move – and moving regionally can also change everything.

“Now that I’m here and I’ve charted a path for myself, I can see the opportunities that encourage multinationals to come to Africa – and they aren’t always obvious to Zambians. (…) The question is how to create an environment that encourages people to stay and develop their countries when they have something to offer.”

We could draw a parallel between the advantages of people moving where they’re needed and goods moving where they’re needed. What are your thoughts on the recently-signed Statutory Instrument (SI) on Local Content?

There are many layers and complexities to ‘local content’. One of these is understanding procurement and strategic sourcing. Some materials can only be sourced from specific parts of the world, so that has to be factored in. The real concern is ensuring that local suppliers have fair opportunities to participate.

Many mining houses already have supplier development programs and partnerships to encourage this. At KoBold, we’re in exploration – so we’re not operating at the scale of a large mine – but we do our best to source services locally where possible. That’s a no-brainer for industry.

Industry procurement must be intentional and inclusive, but it also has to be sustainable, practical, ethical, and not stifling to the investment climate. How can we systematically build a robust, competitive local industry in the supply of mining goods and services? It takes years and requires knowledge retention, including moving with innovation on products, product substitutes, and costs of production. The cost implications are driven by global commodity prices because the final products are not consumed here – and that can make a mine or mining business uneconomic if the laws do not factor this in.

Free market economics will always bump heads with industry protectionism – this has happened the world over. Ultimately, the question is: how much of the value generated by mining stays within Zambia? And how do we create a sustainable balance? That’s where the real debate lies. We also need a forward-looking diversified mining sector with adjacent industries that can withstand cyclical shocks which could otherwise force businesses into distress.

In spite of mining’s sizable economic contribution to Zambia, the narrative about mining not benefitting the country sufficiently is still pervasive. You will have seen firsthand from your time at Kansanshi the positive impact that mining has had on Solwezi and its surrounding communities. Similarly, KoBold has made it clear that the company intends to have an enormously positive impact on Zambia, through its commitment to – among other things – local partnerships across the value chain and environmental protection.

Can you speak to the origins of this perception and the extent to which it reflects reality on the ground?

The perception matters. Zambia has been doing mechanised mining since the 1930s. Over the decades, we’ve seen nationalisation, privatisation, copper price crashes, and economic downturns and upturns. After all that, many people look around and ask, ‘What has mining actually done for us?’

There are two sides to the argument, and they both matter. Governance plays a huge role, too – it’s not just about the mining companies.

One thing I always tell people – especially those who understand finance – is to look closely at the taxes paid by the sector. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) publishes data on what every mining company pays in taxes. That includes corporate income tax, withholding tax, PAYE – everything.

In a simplistic example, if a mining company employs 10,000 people, each of them is paying various taxes, and that money goes to the Revenue Authority. From there, it becomes part of the national budget, and is allocated to the industries and sectors that the Government is going to focus on for that next year. But here’s the real issue: many don’t know what’s in the national budget, and what areas will receive allocations to drive economic affairs. So it’s all too common to misunderstand both the problems and the solutions. It is our civic duty to understand our national ambitions and regional ambitions. As a relatively young democracy, young people need to spend time educating themselves on their civic responsibilities, how to inform themselves, and how to hold others accountable.

“Zambia has been doing mechanised mining since the 1930s. Over the decades, we’ve seen nationalisation, privatisation, copper price crashes, and economic downturns and upturns. After all that, many people look around and ask, ‘What has mining actually done for us?’ There are two sides to the argument, and they both matter. Governance plays a huge role, too – it’s not just about the mining companies.”

What needs to change for there to be better public understanding of mining’s role in Zambia’s economy?

We need more dialogue and awareness. The Government’s creation of the Public-Private Dialogue Forum was a great first step, and the media also has a role to play – but more Zambians need to engage in these forums. In countries with strong civic participation, citizens track local budgets and know how much is allocated to roads, schools, or healthcare. We need to move in that direction. Rather than relying on media headlines, people should be looking at tax reports and national budget allocations. If we don’t shift the conversation, the same frustrations people have had about mining for the past 70 years will continue into the future.

***

Look out for Part 3 of this exclusive interview, in which Ms Makayi tells us about the Mingomba project’s contribution to Zambia, shares lessons that she gained during the course of her career, and offers advice for those hoping to succeed in the mining industry.

Read Part 1 here.

Safety is a shared mindset

Zambia's Mines

November 13, 2025

Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, Dr Hapenga M. Kabeta, handing the trophy to the Chairman of the Board at Kagem, Dr Sixtus Mulenga

For the second year running, Kagem Mining Limited has been named Zambia’s “Best Mine in Safety.” In an industry known for its operational risks, receiving this recognition two years in a row is no small feat for the Lufwanyama-based emerald miner.

The award was presented at the 9th National Conference on Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) in Ndola by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, Dr Hapenga Kabeta, on 30 October.

It follows another milestone in May this year, when Kagem was recognised by the Mines Safety Department for achieving over 10 million Lost Time Injury (LTI)-free hours. ‘LTI-free hours’ is a key safety metric in the mining sector that tallies the total number of hours worked by all employees and contractors without a work-related injury that’s serious enough for someone to miss their next full shift or workday. Since May, Kagem has surpassed 11.5 million LTI-free hours.

But this award is not just about numbers, or how safety is measured year by year.

A shared vision for ‘zero harm’

“Striving for a ‘zero harm’ culture goes beyond safety records,” said Chairman of the Board at Kagem, Dr Sixtus Mulenga, who received the award along with Mr Adriaan Prinsloo, General Manager at Kagem. “Every day without incident is something to be grateful and proud of,” he added.

The goal of ‘zero harm’ was formalised at last year’s national HSE conference, when Government stakeholders launched the ‘Vision Zero’ initiative for the mining industry in partnership with the Zambia Chamber of Mines, the Africa Vision Zero Network, and the International Social Security Association (ISSA). ‘Vision Zero’ is part of a global prevention strategy – championed by ISSA – that aims to eliminate work-related fatalities and serious injuries by promoting a culture of prevention and systemic safety interventions.

Collaboration that saves lives

The theme of this year’s conference was “Innovative Solutions to Zero Harm: Technology and HSE” – emphasising the fact that automation, monitoring tools, and data-driven risk assessment are becoming essential to modern mining.

“Achieving and sustaining this goal will require the deployment of every tool available to us, including existing and emerging technologies – as highlighted at this year’s conference,” said Mr Bukoka.

He also applauded the coming together of the mining community to exchange knowledge that improves workplace safety.

One such collaboration took place in December last year when mine rescue teams from ten leading Zambian mining companies came together for a first-of-its-kind joint training session hosted at FQM’s Kansanshi Mine. The purpose? To strengthen mine rescue standards across the country by sharing expertise and aligning safety protocols.

Importantly, these collaborations extend beyond mine gates. When accidents occur in surrounding communities, mine rescue teams are often the first responders. Enhancing their capacity strengthens not only the mining workforce’s safety net but also that of the broader community.

Beyond compliance

Across Zambia, mining companies are shifting from compliance-based safety systems to more participatory, behaviour-based approaches. At First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi and Trident operations, for example, the THINK! programme trains employees to assess risks, identify hazards, and make safe decisions in real time. It’s a simple but powerful reminder that safety begins with individual awareness:

T – Take the time
H – Highlight the hazard
I – Identify what could go wrong
N – Necessary actions to be taken?
K – Keep safety first!

Kagem’s outstanding safety record and FQM’s behaviour-based approach are both examples of an emerging trend: safety is becoming a shared mindset that mines are investing in – rather than a checklist.

A sector that’s raising the bar

Speaking as Kagem’s Chairman of the Board, Dr Mulenga said: “This achievement reaffirms our commitment to safeguarding the health and safety of every individual at our mine site and operations, and is testament to our culture of striving for continuous improvement.” He added, “We do not take such milestones lightly nor for granted in our industry, as the health and safety of our employees is our highest priority.”

Dr Kabeta pointed out that promoting safety within the mining industry is not only “a moral and legal obligation.” It’s also “a key driver of sustainable development and investor confidence,” he said during the award presentation.

“I wish to reiterate the government’s commitment in fostering a safe, sustainable, and technologically driven mining and industrial sector. We will continue to support initiatives that promote the best in health, safety, and environment management while ensuring that we strengthen regulatory frameworks and enhance collaboration among stakeholders. Through these efforts, Government aims to achieve the vision of ‘zero-harm’ where every worker operates in a secure environment and ensures that mining activities contribute meaningfully to the national development while sustaining lives, communities and the environment,” he added.

Kagem’s recognition as the “Best Mine in Safety” for the second consecutive year is more than a stand-alone success story. It reflects the fact that the sector is learning and evolving together. From collaborative training to behavioural safety and digital innovation, Zambia’s mines are taking action around a shared belief: that safety and productivity reinforce one another.

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Mining For Zambia

Closing the loop

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Drilling

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Smelting

Five More Things You Didn’t Know About Uranium

Five Things You Didn’t Know about Gold

Mfikeyi Makayi: ‘Mining is needed by everyone’

Why Hitachi chose Kansanshi to trial the biggest battery electric vehicle…

Zambia’s rising safety ambitions

Standing on our own two feet

Looking back at mining in 2025

How running became part of Solwezi’s DNA

Safety in numbers

Dreaming big in Kalumbila

‘Igniting hope’ at Kwambula Trades Training Institute

Spotlight on skills at Kansanshi’s jewellery workshop