(Ecofin Agency) - Zambia’s copper output stood at 680,000 t in 2023, dropping for the third consecutive year. This tide should soon turn with new investments announced a few months ago, and the anticipated resumption of several mines.

Zambia hopes to bring its copper output to a million tons in 2026. The ambition was unveiled today, April 5, by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane. The figure would be 43% higher than the volume produced last year: 698,000 t.

Speaking on a local radio station, Minister Musokotwane said the country counts on two major actors, Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) and Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), to achieve its goal. “The two mining giants were out of the equation, now they are back [...]. So, by the end of 2025 to 2026, we will be producing more than a million tons of copper,” Musokotwane said, quoted by Reuters.

For the third consecutive year, Zambia’s copper output was down in 2023.  The decline was mostly driven by MCM and KCM’s financial struggles. The two projects came under state control in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Last year, the government entered a deal with International Resources Holding, an Emirati investor, to revive MCM. The same year, it returned KCM to its former owner, Vedanta.

Vedanta and International Resources Holding are expected to invest billions of dollars to rehabilitate mining infrastructure and resume production at the mines in the coming years. Zambia also relies on Kansanshi, another copper mine, to boost its output. At Kansanshi, First Quantum, a Canadian has been developing since 2022 a project worth over $1 billion.  

All these projects could help the country produce up to 3 million tons of copper per year by the end of the decade. At present, Zambia is Africa’s second-biggest copper producer.

Emiliano Tossou