Around 25 years ago, the company that would grow to become one of Zambia’s largest copper miners – First Quantum Minerals (FQM) – was born, as it was during the privatisation era of the 1990s that the FQM CEO and chairperson Philip Pascall and local businessman Lamaswala Kwalela decided to establish a mine.

From humble beginnings processing the tailing dumps of copper ore at Bwana Mkubwa, in Ndola, the company has grown into a global metals and mining company producing mainly copper, gold and zinc from operations in Zambia, Spain, Mauritania, Australia, Finland, Turkey, Panama, Argentina and Peru.

FQM operates two mines in Zambia: Kansanshi mine in Solwezi, of which Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings, or ZCCM-IH, owns a 20% stake, and Sentinel mine at Kalumbila about 150 km north-west of Solwezi.

Both mines primarily produce copper.

Since its inception, FQM has created over 19 000 jobs in Zambia and injected over $7.5-billioninto the local economy.

“Through our skills development and knowledge transfer programmes, we have discovered, and nurtured local talent thereby contributing to the development of skilled labour in Zambia’s mining sector,” says FQM country manager Kingsley Chinkuli.

“This has enabled us to successfully run complex operations at both our mines using some of the world’s largest and technically advanced machinery.”

Kansanshi employs more than 9 500 people, primarily Zambians, and uses “state-of-the-art” processing technology with “world-class” efficiency to extract copper from three different ore types.

In 2010, FQM bought the mining concession in Kalumbila. Construction on the new mine, Sentinel, started in 2012. Sentinel mine represents an investment of more than $2.1-billion – Zambia’s largest infrastructure investment since the Kariba dam was constructed in 1959.

The firm’s 6 000 employees excavate, transport and process over 55-million tonnes of low-grade ore to produce up to 300 000 t/y of copper.

The operation is based on sophisticated technology that includes the world’s largest semi-mobile rope shovel.

Chinkuli notes that beyond the mine’s impressive scale, FQM places great importance on the welfare of its workforce and the community in which it operates.

“FQM is not only concerned with mineral production. We care for our employees’ wellbeing and the sustainability of the communities around our mines,” he says.“Our sustainability spending exceeds $100-million – delivering tangible social improvement to thousands of Zambians.”

He comments that this $100-million intervention has mainly centred on improving access to quality healthcare by building health posts, sponsoring HIV/Aids and malaria prevention programmes as well as agricultural improvement initiatives, community infrastructure development, gender equality programmes and wildlife protection.

The mine has also constructed classroom blocks and is funding a scholarship programme to enable gifted pupils from low-income households to access quality education.

FQM is also Zambia’s largest taxpayer with contributions to the national treasury exceeding $5.6-billion, while dividends paid to ZCCM-IH amounted to more than $245-million to 2020.

In 2019, over half of government revenue collected from Zambia’s extractive industry came from FQM.

“Central to long-term private-sector investment is finding equitable benefits between investors, government and communities,” explains Chinkuli.

“To arrive at this equilibrium requires close and constant dialogue between all stakeholders. As with any good marriage, consistent communication and mutual understanding is key to a lasting relationship,” he concludes.