With the Zambian government and local private sector aiming to promote local companies and suppliers to build Zambia’s manufacturing expertise, thereby enhancing the country’s mining supply chain, Spintelligent, part of Clarion Events and event and exhibition company Specialised Exhibitions, a Montgomery Group company, will host the first Copperbelt Mining Trade Expo and Conference (CBM-TEC) event in Kitwe, Zambia, in April next year.

The dynamic growth and recent accessibility of the Copperbelt region, in Central Africa, means there is a new busi- ness development opportunity for businesses servicing the region’s mining sector. Recognised as a politically and economically stable country, Zambia continues to drive forward its economic and industrial development in the region and is positively showcased as a leading market territory among Africa’s emerging markets, says integrated media company Spintelligent mining events director Nicole Smith.

She adds that CBM-TEC is a professional attendance, technical supplies and equipment trade expo for the Central African Copperbelt region, hosted exclusively within the Copperbelt region. The event will provide an exclusive business networking opportunity for African equipment and services companies to conveniently engage directly, in one place, with the regional mining operations over two days, delivering a measurable return-on-investment for the buyer and seller market.

“CBM-TEC will address Zambia’s strategy for, and the role of the mining industry in, local-content development. The conference will not only cover issues pertaining to creating efficient conditions for mining output in the Copperbelt but it will also highlight exploration opportunities in the region. CBM-TEC will also offer a technical programme that will cover more technical subjects pertaining to exploration, production and processing,” she points out.

Smith further highlights that attendees will learn about the local-content initiative launched by the Zambian government and how companies can comply with it. Companies will also come to a better understanding of the nature of doing business in Zambia’s Copperbelt region, gaining insight into the infrastructure challenges and opportunities in the transport and energy sectors of the country.

“Bringing a technically driven conference and supply trade expo to the Copperbelt is something that the industry wants. “This has been evident in the positive response we have received from the South African, international and Zambian markets, as well as from the regional Central African market.

“The investment- and policy-driven phase of this emerging market is well populated and the industry indicated that it wanted technical solutions and an event held within the industry’s geography,” Smith concludes.