Zambia sees 1-million-tonne copper output by 2027

Zambia

HARARE, July 23, 2024 – Zambia expects to see copper output jump to 1 million tonnes per year by 2027, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The report cited the country’s Ministry of Finance and National Planning’s medium-term budget plan, published on Sunday, which projects yearly increases in copper production from 2025-2027.

This follows the country hitting a 14-year low of 698,566 tonnes in 2023 under the previous government, as mining companies struggled with changes in the tax regime, Bloomberg said.

The country’s current president, Hakainde Hichilema, took office in August 2021.

Zambia, which relies on copper for around 70% of its export earnings, targets a production of 3 million tonnes per year by 2031.

In June, Zambian President Hichilema said the Bill Gates-backed KoBold Metals was eyeing an investment of USD 2.3 billion to build a new copper mine in the country.

Various forecasts have predicted that global copper demand will soar beyond 30 million tonnes per year by 2030, up from 24.8 million tonnes in 2022.