Diversified mining major Anglo American has joined representatives of government, civil society and other stakeholders in the mining sector at a global conference in Lusaka, Zambia, to discuss the future of resource taxation, as part of the launch of a new guide on the subject by the Inter-governmental Forum (IGF) on mining.

Those attending were seeking to find effective solutions to promote transparency and sustainable development in the mining sector.  

The conference was officially opened by Zambia Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, who expressed confidence in the three-day event’s potential to facilitate constructive discussions and generate innovative solutions surrounding mining taxation. 

“It is important to set the right frameworks to encourage the significant amount of mining investment required to address climate change. The world needs a lot more mining to transition to net zero and we must encourage and enable the required investments in a way that also benefits the countries that host those resources.

“Finding this right balance would be win-win for governments and investors. The mining regime should be considered holistically, and certainty is key to investors given the long-term nature of mining,” Anglo American international tax head David Spencer said.

Anglo American lead economist Benjamin Jones commended the Zambian government’s emphasis on investing in research in the context of ambitions to develop downstream processing capacity in critical raw materials value chains, stressing the broader need to understand the market and investment context when designing policies.  

“One of the challenges tax policymakers and administrators are facing is the extreme levels of price volatility in some mining products that creates problems with the predictability and measurement of taxable value. However, benchmark prices for some of these rapidly growing materials markets are emerging which help measure value with greater accuracy and ease,” he said.

Jones added that Anglo American was committed to participating in multistakeholder discussions aimed at addressing some of the ongoing challenges surrounding mining taxation and ensuring any future mining tax reforms served to balance the needs of host countries while preserving incentives for much-needed investment in the sector.

The dialogue between Anglo American and key stakeholders underscores their shared commitment to address the challenges of mining taxation and promote sustainable socio-economic development in the country. 

The Global Conference on the Future of Resource Taxation served as a platform for constructive discussion and knowledge-sharing, contributing to ongoing efforts to create a transparent, equitable and prosperous mining sector in resource-rich countries such as Zambia.

Forming part of its global greenfield discovery programme, Anglo American is conducting exploration activity in Zambia to identify potential opportunities in critical minerals, including copper and cobalt.

The company recently entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with junior exploration company Arc Minerals. Once the conditions of that transaction are satisfied, Anglo American will have the right to retain up to a 70% shareholding in the JV company to explore Zambia's North-Western province for copper and cobalt.