Zambia Threatens to Revoke Unused Mining Licences
Hichilema issued the warning on Tuesday at the 2026 Zambia Mining and Investment Insaka in Lusaka, where he said the country could achieve its target of producing three million metric tonnes of copper annually by expanding existing operations and increasing exploration across all provinces.
According to a statement by Zambia’s State House, distributed by APO Group, the President identified the revival of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and the Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP) as key to achieving the target.
He said stakeholders had agreed that the mine should contribute 300,000 tonnes towards the national copper production target.
Hichilema also highlighted the US$1.3bn expansion project at Kansanshi Mine and operations at Lumwana Mine as examples of investments creating opportunities for local contractors and young people across mining, manufacturing and supply chains.
He cited the Kitumba Greenfield project in Mumbwa District, which was unlocked after years of litigation, as evidence that resolving investment bottlenecks could stimulate economic activity across the country’s provinces.
The President further disclosed that the government had invested nearly US$100m in a nationwide, high-resolution geophysical mapping survey covering Zambia’s 752,000 square kilometres to reduce exploration risks and attract investors.
Beyond increasing production, Hichilema called for stronger regional cooperation among Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Botswana to develop cross-border joint ventures and harmonise standards in critical minerals and energy.
He stressed that reliable electricity generation, shared transmission infrastructure and an open-access energy market were essential to supporting deep-level mining and mineral processing.
Meanwhile, Botswana’s Minister of Minerals and Energy, Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, called on African countries to move beyond exporting raw minerals and invest in local processing, manufacturing and technology to retain more economic value on the continent.
Representing Botswana’s President, Duma Gideon Boko, Kenewendo said stronger regional integration and investment in shared infrastructure would help develop mineral-based industries, create jobs and strengthen regional value chains.
She noted that Botswana, traditionally reliant on diamond resources, was diversifying into copper, base metals and critical minerals to support industrialisation and economic cooperation across the Southern African Development Community.
Similarly, DRC Minister of Mines Louis Watum Kabamba called for closer cooperation between Zambia and the DRC, which share a copperbelt stretching between Kolwezi and Ndola and contain significant deposits of copper, cobalt and other minerals critical to the energy transition.
Kabamba said mining success should be measured not only by production and exports but also by the jobs, infrastructure and skills generated within local economies.
He urged both countries to pursue complementary industrial development rather than unnecessary competition, highlighting a proposed battery and electric vehicle value-chain project linking Musompo and Ndola.
The DRC minister also advocated investment in reliable rail infrastructure to ease truck congestion at border crossings, particularly Kasumbalesa, alongside cooperation in geological research, mineral traceability and efforts to curb illicit mineral trading.
He added that regional industrialisation and shared prosperity depended on peace, stability and respect for national sovereignty.
