Keypoints:
- Zambia seeks greater mineral-trading power
- Exchange could improve pricing transparency
- Liquidity and processing remain key tests
ZAMBIA is backing a proposed pan-African metals exchange as it seeks to retain more income from its mineral wealth and gain greater influence over how copper and other strategic commodities are priced and traded globally.
The initiative matters because Zambia’s challenge is no longer simply to increase production. Lusaka must also show that mining expansion can generate public revenue, businesses and jobs. A continental marketplace could improve transparency, but it cannot replace domestic processing.
Bloomberg reported on July 28, 2026, that Zambia was betting on the exchange to boost the wealth it receives from mining. The move reflects a wider African push to participate in the commercial systems surrounding minerals rather than remain principally a supplier of raw materials.
Zambia seeks a trading role
Mineral-producing countries often receive taxes, royalties and dividends while international traders, financiers and processors capture additional margins after commodities leave the mine.
A credible African exchange could connect producers and buyers, improve market information and help governments understand the discounts, transport costs and margins applied to exports.
Important details remain unclear. Zambia and its partners must explain who will own and regulate the platform, where contracts will be settled, which minerals will be admitted and whether participation will be voluntary.
Without sufficient trading volume, recognised grading standards and enforceable contracts, the project could struggle to gain commercial relevance.
Lusaka increasingly wants the state to participate commercially in minerals rather than depend only on taxation and minority shareholdings.
In 2024, state-owned Industrial Resources Limited formed a metals-trading venture with Mercuria to buy and sell copper locally and internationally. Mercuria was expected to contribute expertise and help build local capacity.
ZCCM-IH has also explored obtaining physical metal corresponding to its mining interests and selling it internationally, providing direct knowledge of customers and prices.
These initiatives accompany Zambia’s drive to raise annual copper production from 890,346 tonnes in 2025 to 3m tonnes by 2031. The expansion, examined in Africa Briefing’s report on Zambia’s copper strategy, is supported by projects involving First Quantum Minerals, Barrick Mining and Vedanta Resources.
Trading is not industrialisation
An exchange may improve market intelligence, but it will not automatically deliver beneficiation. Zambia will capture substantially more value only by expanding smelting, refining and manufacturing into cables, transformers and other products.
That requires reliable electricity, affordable finance, skills and efficient transport. Drought-related power shortages have exposed Zambia’s dependence on hydropower, while smelter outages forced the government to extend a duty waiver on some copper concentrate exports in 2026.
The country’s critical-minerals potential includes cobalt, nickel, manganese, lithium and graphite. Converting those resources into lasting wealth will depend on viable processing projects.
Zambia also plans to connect its Copperbelt to the Lobito Corridor. But faster export infrastructure could move more unprocessed minerals abroad unless industrial policy advances at the same pace.
The route’s growing importance was demonstrated when DRC copper reached Belgium through the Lobito Corridor, highlighting its potential to reshape regional mineral exports.
Liquidity will decide success
Successful commodity exchanges depend on liquidity. The platform needs enough mineral supply, committed buyers and trade finance to generate trusted prices.
It will also require credible warehouses, independent inspection, secure settlement and clear dispute-resolution rules. Governments must decide whether state-controlled volumes will pass through the exchange, while private miners need commercial reasons to participate.
Its most practical opening may be as a physical marketplace for verified African minerals rather than an immediate challenger to established global benchmarks.
Election raises pressure
The proposal comes before Zambia’s August 13 presidential and parliamentary elections. Copper generates about 70 percent of export earnings, making the sector central to debates over growth.
President Hakainde Hichilema has promoted policy stability and foreign investment as the route to reviving the industry. The government says more than $12bn has been invested in brownfield and greenfield mines since 2022.
Yet voters will judge those inflows by whether they produce jobs, local procurement, reliable services and higher household incomes.
Africa Briefing’s analysis of the election’s economic stakes shows that stronger copper prices and renewed investment have not removed concerns about living costs.
Supporting a continental exchange gives Lusaka a way to demand a larger commercial role without resorting to mine seizures or abrupt tax changes. The government must still balance investor confidence against demands for a fairer share of mining wealth.
What happens next?
Zambia must clarify the exchange’s governance, financing, regulatory jurisdiction and relationship with its existing metals-trading ventures.
If the platform attracts real volumes and reputable buyers, it could retain trading knowledge, fees and market intelligence in Africa while giving producers a clearer route to customers.
Without liquidity and institutional trust, however, it risks becoming another ambitious continental project with limited influence.
Mineral sovereignty involves more than controlling deposits. It also requires understanding prices, negotiating sales and participating in markets where value is created.
Zambia’s plan should therefore be judged by the minerals, buyers and money that eventually move through the exchange—not by its rhetoric.
