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Mining & Energy
A total of 6,000 MW are estimated to be available;
however, only 1,760 MW have been developed.
The three large grid-connected hydropower proj-
ects are the following: Kafue Gorge, Kariba North
Bank, and Victoria Falls.
Biomass
The country’s biomass resources are estimated to
be sufficient to support electricity generation of ap-
prox. 500 MW. It has been proposed to shoot for a
biomass generation capacity of 100 MW by 2030.
There are very few plants that currently use bio-
mass to generate electricity in Zambia. At Nakam-
bala sugar in Mazabuka, a low-pressure combus-
tion system is currently in use. A similar technology
is in use at Kafue sugar.
Wind
According to international standards, wind re-
sources are estimated to be low to fair. The aver-
age wind speed for the country is at 2.5 meters per
second. In some areas these low numbers may
be sufficient enough for water pumping. That be-
ing said, there are some areas with an average
wind speed of up to 6 meters per second, which
may be favorable for the development of power
generation.
MINING
Zambia is the largest producer of copper in Africa,
as well as being a major source of minerals such
as cobalt, zinc, lead, uranium, and other precious
metals and stones. The Copperbelt region is the
epicenter of the Zambian mining industry as well
as home to the vast majority of the country’s in-
dustrial activity, and it has been one of the major
drivers of economic growth in recent years.
Zambia’s rich mineral resources, its copper and
cobalt mines in particular, have brought much
needed foreign exchange earnings to the country.
Privatization of the formerly state-owned mines
and many years of increasing prices and demand
of resources like copper, have led to a great deal
of investment in the mining industry and an expan-
sion in mineral production. It has also led to the
establishment of new mines and the recapitaliza-
tion of existing ones.
The country’s vast mineral reserves include an esti-
mated 10 percent of the world’s known reserves of
copper and 34 percent of its cobalt. The Copperbelt
alone contains a total mineral resource reserve of at
least 2 billion metric tonnes. In addition to huge re-
serves of copper and cobalt, Zambia also possesses
a variety of precious and semi-precious minerals,
such as amethyst, aquamarine, emeralds, gold, sil-
ver, diamonds, and selenium. Other known mineral
resources, which are largely underexploited, include
marble, granite, as well as ferrous metals.
The Copperbel
t
After independence in 1964, the copper industry was
seen as being so central and strategic to the country
that a nationalization program was enacted. Zam-
bia’s two main mines were nationalized in 1969, with
copper production and refining being carried out by
large state-run enterprises. These parastatal entities
contributed massively to government revenue dur-
ing the early 1970s when copper prices were high
and the economy of Zambia was booming. Copper
production reached a record high of some 750,000
metric tonnes per year. Zambia’s copper industry,
however, began to decline following a dramatic drop
in the price of copper in the mid 1970s.
Political change in 1991, led to a thorough restruc-
turing of the mining and mineral exploration sector
in Zambia. The adoption of a more outward-oriented
and free market approach together with an investor
friendly legislative framework revitalized the industry.
This was enhanced by the privatization of the major-
ity of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM)
mining assets and associated operations (e.g. con-
centrators, smelters, and refineries) between 1998
and 2002, which has resulted in over 6 billion USD-
worth of foreign direct investment by international
mining companies. Positive growth and investment
has also been furthered by very strong international
copper and cobalt prices especially since 2007.
Many existing operations have been rehabilitated
and refurbished, new operations have been brought
into production and exploration has flourished.
This has resulted in a very significant increase in the
production of copper. From a total of 257,000 met-
ric tonnes produced in 2000, copper production in
Zambia has increased during each subsequent year.
Mining attracted a total of 12.6 billion USD in foreign
investment from 1997 to 2013. In recent years, how-
ever, the price of copper has been decreasing. This
