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Zambia’s mining sector has in 2023 recorded US$3.4 billion in investment commitments, an achievement which has been hailed by the country’s mines body.
Statistics from the Zambia Chamber of Mines (ZCM) indicated that the country’s mining sector had this year recorded US$3.4 billion in investment commitments in 2023, compared to the US$1.7 billion that was pledged last year.
ZCM Chief Executive Officer, Sokwani Chilembo, revealed that from 2021 to 2023, a cumulative total of close to US$1 billion of capital expenditure had already been spent on turning existing operations around.
Reflecting on the performance of the industry in 2023, Chilembo in a statement issued on Monday stated: “It has been a very good year, both in terms of investment commitments and progress on the ground.”
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He highlighted some of the mining investments and pledges which took place during this year, starting with announcement by China Nonferrous Mining Corporation (CNMC) of a US$1.3 billion investment into its various operations in the country.
“This includes an investment of US$200 million dollars into the Kasamba open cast mine in Lufwanyama District, which will supply Sinoleach’s operations in Chambishi.
“This investment will see Sinoleach almost doubling their production to around 20,000 tonnes of contained copper per annum,” Chilembo said.
He also pointed out the US$500 million investment in expanding operations at the NFCA Mine in Chambishi, which was expected to bring on board an additional 30,000 metric tonnes of copper per annum.
Chilembo also mentioned the commitment by Barrick Lumwana of investing US$2 billion into a new greenfield operation in North-western Province, called Kamisengo.
This was expected to produce around 110,000 tonnes of copper each year.
“And, there is the very historic reactivation of Shaft 28 at Luanshya, where US$100 million will be spent on dewatering alone.
“On completion of the dewatering there will be an additional underground investment of approximately US$500 million, which will move Luanshya from its current 40,000-tonnes-per-annum production levels, to about 70,000 tonnes,” he said.
Chilembo explained that Zambia was essentially two years into a new approach to mining in the country, one that prioritised the long-term growth of the industry.
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