Keypoints:
- Zambia aims to raise copper output to 3m tons by 2031
- Lusaka is courting US and other global investors
- Copper demand is rising with the energy transition
ZAMBIA is courting global investors, including from the United States, as it seeks to more than triple copper production to 3 million metric tons by 2031, Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe said on Tuesday.
The push matters far beyond Zambia’s mining belt. Copper is central to electric vehicles, grid expansion and renewable energy systems, and Lusaka’s latest investment drive places the country at the centre of a widening global contest for critical minerals.
Lusaka sharpens copper growth push
Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo, produced 890,346 tons last year, missing its 1 million-ton annual target. The government now wants fresh capital, technical expertise and new mine development to close that gap and accelerate growth.
The investment push also builds on Zambia’s broader mineral strategy, which Africa Briefing has tracked in earlier reporting on Zambia’s critical minerals outlook and the country’s wider effort to position itself for a long-term supply boom.
Kabuswe told Reuters that Zambia is in discussions with a range of countries and investors as part of that plan.
‘The U.S. is part of it,’ he said, without detailing any specific negotiations or projects.
US interest adds geopolitical weight
Washington’s interest in Zambia reflects a broader drive to loosen China’s grip on minerals crucial to advanced manufacturing and clean energy supply chains. That competitive shift has become more visible across central and southern Africa, including in Africa Briefing’s recent coverage of US-backed copper moves in Zambia and US interest in copper and cobalt assets in DR Congo.
Zambia is especially attractive because its resource base extends beyond copper. The country also has deposits of cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, lithium and rare-earth elements, all of which are becoming more strategically important as global industries shift towards cleaner technologies.
Zambia wants fairer investment terms
Kabuswe said Zambia would welcome foreign money, but only on terms that protect national interests.
‘There is nothing linked to anything,’ he told Reuters when asked whether ongoing US-Zambia talks over a health aid package worth more than $1bn were tied to mining access.
He added that Lusaka approaches negotiations cautiously and wants investment deals that benefit both sides.
‘It has to be a win-win situation for Zambia and for the investors,’ Kabuswe said.
That language reflects a broader policy balancing act. Zambia wants to remain pro-investment while showing voters that the state is not giving away strategic assets too cheaply.
Big miners already have a foothold
Several global firms already operate in Zambia, including China’s JCHX Mining, Canada’s Barrick Gold and First Quantum Minerals, India’s Vedanta Resources, UAE-based International Resources Holding and KoBold Metals, which is backed by US investors.
The scale of that international presence shows why Zambia remains central to the future of African copper. It also fits a wider continental pattern of expanding mining investment, jobs and local-content debates, themes Africa Briefing recently examined in reports on Africa’s mining jobs growth and how record copper prices are reshaping Zambia and DR Congo.
For Zambia, the 2031 target is ambitious but politically important. If Lusaka can secure enough capital and maintain stable terms for investors, copper could remain the backbone of its economic strategy for years to come.
