Zambia’s New Mines Minister Calls on ZCCM-IH to Help Deliver 2031 Copper Target
New Zambia Mines Minister Brenda Tambatamba Urges ZCCM-IH to Help Reach 3 Million Tonnes of Copper a Year by 2031
Zambia’s new Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, Brenda Tambatamba, has urged ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) to define how it will help the country produce three million tonnes of copper annually by 2031.
Speaking during a familiarisation visit to the company’s head office in Lusaka on 10 November, Tambatamba said ZCCM-IH should use its mining investments and technical expertise to advance the government’s Grow Zambia Agenda.
She called on management to use the company’s strategic plan to identify the obstacles it needs to address and what it will take to overcome them.
Comparing the task to a football match, she said staff should understand how their individual roles fit together and contribute to the company’s goals.
“You carry the brand of success. You carry the brand of resilience,” Tambatamba said. She urged the company to draw on the expertise of its scientists, strategists and other professionals and take a more visible role in implementing the government’s agenda.
Tambatamba pointed to ZCCM-IH’s interests and partnerships involving major mining operations, including Konkola Copper Mines, Mopani Copper Mines, Kansanshi and Barrick’s Lumwana mine.
Meanwhile ZCCM-IH Chief Executive Officer Kakenenwa Muyangwa said the company was committed to supporting both the 2031 copper production target and the government’s goal of reaching 10,000 megawatts of power generation capacity by 2030.
He said the company holds minority and majority stakes across Zambia’s copper, cobalt, coal and energy sectors.
Muyangwa said ZCCM-IH was also supporting industrialisation and local value addition, which he described as a means of creating jobs for young people and supporting long-term growth.
He added that income from the company’s investments had enabled it to pay dividends for 12 consecutive years. Its shareholders include the Industrial Development Corporation, the Ministry of Finance and the National Pension Scheme Authority.
