ZCCM-IH Seeks Partners to Capture More Value from Zambia’s Copper

Zambia must do more than own its mineral resources to benefit fully from them, ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH) Board Chairperson Phesto Musonda told the Financial Times Metals and Mining Summit in London.

Musonda said the country needed partnerships that deliver sustainable returns, reliable power to support local processing, and commercially disciplined state-owned mining companies.

“That is the model Zambia has built through ZCCM-IH. Through ZCCM-IH, Zambia holds a real stake in its mines and earns from them. We are not a passive host to capital. We are an active, commercial partner, and we are ready to grow with those who share that ambition,” he said.

He also set out why ZCCM-IH is moving into metals trading, saying Zambia had world-class copper assets but could not develop them without being clear about how it would sell them.

“That is why government policy now wants ZCCM-IH to take part in metals trading. We cannot simply wait for dividends that don’t come,” Musonda said. “By participating in the trading of commodities, copper in particular, we capture more of the value our resources create and deliver on the Government’s vision. That is why we are here: to meet our partners, understand the offtake market and shape where copper goes next.”

Corporate Affairs Manager Loisa Mbatha said the summit was a chance to put Zambia’s investment case before the investors, financiers and offtakers who decide where the next generation of mining capital goes.

“As the world’s demand for copper grows and the constraint shifts towards processing and power, that visibility is central to securing the investment Zambia needs to reach its goal of three million tonnes of copper a year by 2031,” she said.