Zambia president restates copper target and warns against idle mining licences
Hakainde Hichilema said stalled projects would need to resume for Zambia to reach its three-million-tonne annual copper goal.
Event / data period: 2026-10-19
Published: · Updated:
President Hakainde Hichilema warned companies against holding mining licences for speculative purposes at the Zambia Mining and Investment Insaka in Lusaka on 19 October. The State House said the government would enforce a “use it or lose it” policy.
Hichilema cited a national goal of three million metric tonnes of copper a year and said Konkola Deep should contribute 300,000 tonnes toward it. These are a target and planned project contribution, not current output; the release gives no timetable.
Data
Zambia annual copper production target
Goal and project contribution cited by the State House.
| National output target | 3 |
| Konkola Deep project contribution | 0.3 |
Methodology
Three million tonnes is a national target; 300,000 tonnes is the cited Konkola Deep contribution. Neither is current output.
Updated:
Subjects and places
Subject proposals
- Business enterpriseSuggested
- Preserved editorial category/topic; broad candidate onlywww.sh.gov.zm ↗
- Metal and mineral mining and refiningSuggested
- Subject suggested from the title or summary: miningwww.sh.gov.zm ↗
Geographic references
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- Zambia · Place role: Coverage · Place type: Country or area · Location precision: RegionalEvidence
- Explicit preserved editorial country/region; no city or national centroid inferredwww.sh.gov.zm ↗