Zambia's proposed minerals regulation law could deter investment and deliver a"fatal blow" to plans to raise annual copper output to 3 million tons, two mining bodies have said.
But Zambia's Chamber of Mines , the main mining industry body, and the Association of Zambian Mineral Exploration Companies said in a joint statement some parts of the proposed law"will drive up the perception of investment risk in Zambia". "The Bill also grants unaccountable and arbitrary discretionary decision making powers to individual regulators, which present obvious future corruption risks," they added.President Hakainde Hichilema's government, elected in 2021, has sought to repair the country's investment reputation and ramp up copper production, which was impacted by the seizure of Konkola Copper Mines from Vedanta by the previous administration in 2019.
Copper output slumped to 698 000 tons in 2023 from 763 000 tons the previous year, data from the Zambia Chamber of Mines showed.