Zambia Third Best Mining Destination in Africa

The latest Fraser Institute Report Annual Survey of Global Mining Investors shows that Zambia has accelerated from 12th position, to 3rd place. The report provides a survey of investor’s opinions of the 86 mining jurisdictions worldwide, and ranks them. 

This is a positive sign, and the Zambia Chamber of Mines says it is pleased with the country’s progress in attracting mining investment from across the world. Its president, Godwin Beene indicated that whilst the mining industry had made significant gains, the next step is to manage and upscale the reform of the overall mining regulatory framework in a way that coincides with global practices. 

With the growth of the mining sector also comes opportunity. The President of the Zambia Institute for Purchasing and Supply (ZIPS) has urged mining companies to implement policies and programmes which would help support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which have remained somewhat stagnant in comparison to the mining industry. 

This impressive ranking comes after the news in February of the mining company KoBold Metals, financially backed by both Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, which plans to invest and explore the Dumbwa target within the Solwezi copper project. Last year, it invested $50 million into exploration. KoBold partnered with Midnight Sun Mining in February for the project. On 17th May, the marketing and communications director Adrien O’ Brien said during a panel Q&A, “Zambia has a century-long mining history…its infrastructure and workforce are second to none.”

KoBold’s investment in Zambia is underpinned by its confidence in the country’s potential, with six active projects, and plans for further projects in the future.