Zambia's First Mineral Survey Since 1972 Nears Completion

Zambia's countrywide high-resolution geophysical survey is 93.6 per cent complete and on course to finish in December, giving investors their first modern picture of what lies beneath the country's soil.

Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, Anthony Chilengi, told the Africa Critical Minerals Conference on Monday that Zambia had remained largely unmapped for decades. The last major geological mapping exercise was carried out in 1972.

Mr Chilengi said the new data would allow investors to identify and develop resources with far greater confidence, and would open ground that exploration has never properly assessed.

He set the survey alongside regulatory reform. The new Minerals Regulation Commission separates regulation from policy, which he said would give investors greater certainty, while a Mining Appeals Tribunal has been established so that sector disputes can be resolved without recourse to lengthy court proceedings.

The conference underlined how much of Zambia's mining capital is already Chinese. Chinese Mining Enterprises Association in Zambia chairperson Wang Jingjun said more than 40 Chinese-funded companies operate across mining, smelting, engineering and logistics, with combined investment above US$3.5 billion and close to 19,000 Zambian jobs.

Chinese Embassy counsellor Jin Jun said demand from electric vehicles, semiconductors and artificial intelligence gave Zambia a chance to convert its resource base into development gains.

Zambia Development Agency director general Albert Halwampa struck the cautionary note. Zambia must stop exporting cathodes, anodes and concentrates, he said, and attract industries that add value to its minerals at home.