The Chamber of Mines of Zambia (CMZ) reports that it hopes, with the assistance of the Ministry of Mines, to showcase the potential that the Zambian mining industry offers international investors, at the inaugural Zambian International Mining and Energy Conference (Zimec), which will be held in Lusaka from June 14 to June 16.

CMZ president Nathan Chishimba reports that by having a conference that exposes the extent of involvement of mining companies already operating in Zambia, the conference organisers and key note speakers have the opportunity to outline the full extent of the industry, and profile how large the industry’s contribution really is to the economy of Zambia.

“I think Zimec also offers the industry a unique opportunity to align itself as a sector and broaden the appeal of the industry. This will make the job of the Chamber much easier when discussing the range of issues mining faces in Zambia,” reports Chishimba.

However, this has not always been easy, as Chishimba points out.

“The Chamber has been a lone voice representing the industry in Zambia for a long time, mostly because other players in the industry tend to be silent participants. This has generally contributed to outreach efforts by the Chamber being ‘rebuffed’, and the industry being seen only in terms of operating mines and any current issues that may be facing industry at any given time, such as environmental matters or taxation, and little else beyond that,” says Chishimba.

Industry Turnaround
The Chamber also hopes that by highlighting the role that international mining companies have already played in the revitalisation of the Zambian mining industry, from the days of nationalisation in the 1990s, more mining companies will be encouraged by the robustness of the industry and will forge ahead with international footprint expansions into the former Southern African powerhouse.

“Since nationalisation attempts a decade ago, production has steadily recovered from 250 000 t/y to almost 900 000 t/y. This is a direct result of the strenuous efforts that postnationalisation investors have invested in turning around assets that were all but written off at the onset of nationalisation. Importantly, some postnationalisation operations have succeeded in achieving considerable gains in production by implementing incremental development of existing assets, and the industry has seen new orebodies being developed at Konkola Deep, which is owned by Konkola Copper Mines, Chibuluma, which is owned by Metorex, and Chambishi, which is owned by China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining,” says Chishimba.

He adds that Zambia has done well in attracting investment in greenfield projects outside the traditional Copperbelt region.

Since 2000, Zambia has seen the opening of the Munali nickel mine, in Mazabuka, in the southern province of Zambia, an area previously associated more with agriculture than mining.

Similarly, the Lumwana copper mine in the rural north-western province in 2009 confirmed the area as the ‘New Copperbelt’ coming after the revival of the Kansanshi copper mine, in Solwezi, some years earlier.

“In April, First Quantum broke ground on the $1-billion Trident project, pushing the frontiers of the ‘New Copperbelt’ further west. Also, in 2010, ground was broken on the Konkola North project, just north of Chililabombwe, near Zambia’s border with Democratic Republic of Congo,” says Chishimba.

In addition to these developments, there has been a lot of activity on the exploration front. Notably, exploration firm Blackthorn Resources and mining major BHP Billiton have been working the Mumbwa area, in central Zambia, while other exploration firms are busy on other workings that offer different degrees of prospectivity. All this bodes well for Zambia and the mining sector in particular.

Basking in the Sun?
Despite these indications that the industry has somewhat ‘reinvented’ itself, there are some detractors who are not so sure if the industry has fully recovered from its aborted attempts at nationalisation.

“At privatisation, Zambia had dropped to about 250 000 t/y of copper production, while there was little exploration in evidence around the country and the infrastructure at all operating assets was decrepit and barely holding up. A decade later, copper production has more than trebled, to around 900 000 t/y, the country is a hive of exploration activity and the industry has seen large-scale rehabilitation of infrastructure at producing assets and the commissioning of new mines.

“I would say this represents remarkable recovery, although a lot of work remains to be done to exploit Zambia’s mineral potential,” says Chishimba.

One-Commodity Industry
The current situation points to a remarkable turnaround of the Zambian industry; however, this growth is still solely dependent on the country’s biggest commodity – copper.

A past criticism of single-commodity industries is that they are left to the mercy of global demand and commodity pricing. If the copper price is high, then the Zambian economy can accelerate even beyond current estimates. However, if the bottom falls out of the copper price, then Zambia will once again find itself an ailing industry.

“I would agree to a point with this, because there is a tendency by some countries to focus around the commodity that has seen the greatest success. However, with the decline in influence of national mining companies, which tended to be focused on one main commodity, and increasing globalisation, the world is seeing commodity and geographical diversification, as new entrants seek out potential in other areas,” says Chishimba.

He adds that this is also the case in Zambia where the industry has seen nickel production emerge in an area that was not previously known for mining. Similarly, the industry is seeing increased exploration for uranium and other noncopper commodities, sometimes in areas that are better known for tourism and other activities.

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