From 2000, when Zambia had largely completed the process of privatising its mining sector, up until 2006, the country's resource industry had caught the fancy of some $2-billion in investment, an expert said on Friday.

And given the current healthy price of copper, which was the cornerstone of Zambian mining, this figure was destined for northward movement, SKM Consulting Associated principal consultant Dr Silane Mwenechanya noted.

He stated that estimates were that current prices could prevail for another four or five years, after which they could soften.

"Then we might see some decline," Mwenechanya told KPMG's Investing in Zambia conference in Johannesburg.

The London Metal Exchange's price for the metal, used in piping and electrical wiring, scaled a record high of $8 730/t on April 11, according to Bloomberg data.

This was after it slumped to a low of $1 338,50/t in July 2001.

Mwenechanya, who had also served as head of the Zambia Business Forum, said that there were still at least 30-million tons of copper below the Southern African country's soil, which was more than what had been extracted in the country's 90-year copper mining history.

Cobalt and copper resources stood at a combined 1,2-billion tons at an average grade of 2,5%. New solvent extraction technologies were making it possible to process ore that was previously unexploitable, he added.

Mwenechanya said that government had identified 30 potentially exploitable copper/cobalt resources in Zambia.

Other resources that the country offered investors included gold, nickel, lead, zinc, uranium, and precious stones.

He said that government's new policy was to decide on issuing exploration and mining licences within 60 days of the receipt an application.

Mwenechanya said that copper was the resource that could "possibly change Zambia".

The new mining legislation came into effect on April 1, and he conceded that that there were some "slight hurdles" in investing in mining in the country, however, he added that "you can't go wrong with the current metal prices".

The challenges included the power shortage that had hit Southern Africa, as well as inadequate transport infrastructure.

However, Mwenechanya highlighted that government was shielding the mining industry from the power shortage, thereby limiting its effect.

Another issue was the new tax regime for miners in the country, which had come under heavy criticism from investors, complaining that they would be overtaxed.