The Zambian mining industry is resurgent and is on track to sustain double-digit growth in its production of copper, positioning the country to facilitate regional growth across Southern and East Africa, says regional private sector mining association Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (MIASA) executive secretary Vusi Mabena.

As a core producer of copper, he says Zambia plays a significant role in the regional economy, contributing between 10% and 12% of the country’s GDP.

The country is also broadening its minerals production portfolio to include gold and critical minerals such as manganese, lithium, graphite and zinc, alongside positioning itself to lead Africa in nickel production, says Mabena.

As a strategic mining jurisdiction with stable mining regulation and policy, Zambia is well positioned to attract capital investment, as demonstrated by its improved ranking in the Fraser Institute’s yearly survey report of 2025, he says.

Investor interest is also expected to further improve, driven by a growing mining project pipeline and sustained minerals production growth.

In addition, as policies are refined to improve the country’s competitiveness relative to rival global mining regions such as South America, Mabena says Zambia’s attractiveness is expected to increase further.

“This all bodes well for the entire [Southern Africa] region and [Africa in general] since many more countries will likely follow suit,” he explains.

Regional Fortitude
Zambia’s target of three-million tonnes of copper a year by 2031, alongside neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) current upward trajectory and positive developments in the Kalahari Copperbelt, demonstrates that the central African Copperbelt will be the dominant global copper-producing region going forward, with the potential to produce over eight-million tonnes a year over the long term, enthuses Mabena.

Alongside copper and cobalt dominance, legacy platinum group metals dominance, and an increasing share of nickel, lithium, graphite and rare earths production, the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) region, with the contribution of Zambia, is set to be the “undisputed critical minerals region of the world”, he states.

Additionally, gold’s growing presence across Zambia, Tanzania, the DRC and Zimbabwe, combined with offshore hydrocarbon developments and related onshore work, further demonstrate that sub-Saharan Africa offers compelling opportunities for serious resource investors.

“Zambia’s geographic position as a logistical nexus further improves its appeal, positioning the country as an attractive staging post for investors active in the DRC or the emerging East Angola mining industry,” says Mabena.

Zambia’s geographic position also establishes the country as the central component of SADC’s extractive industry while its membership of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa makes it a critical link along major corridors connecting mining jurisdictions across the regions, thereby facilitating the flow of minerals to export ports, he says.

As a result, investing in Zambia “opens the door” to broader investment across SADC and East African countries, says Mabena.

Aligned to this, he notes exploration and development capital inflows into Zambia from various sources including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, the Middle East, India, Far East Asia and South Africa.

As regional policies and operating environments are harmonised, this trend is expected to deepen across the wider region, facilitating Zambia’s path towards economic growth and industrialisation.

Additionally, Mabena explains that Zambia’s stability positions the country as an accessible region in which to operate and develop infrastructure. He anticipates that these factors will collectively reinforce the regional strengthening of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), the gradual maturity of rail networks, hydrocarbon pipeline connectivity and the integration of SADC capital markets, led by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Collaborative initiatives are already underway – including the DRC and Zambia’s joint Transboundary Battery and Electric Vehicle Industry Special Economic Zone initiative – and a range of infrastructure corridors supporting extractive production and agri-commodity trade.

To improve electricity tradability and support resilience to climate variability, Mabena says power interconnectors between Tanzania and Zambia are also extending the SAPP’s reach into East Africa.

“The resulting prosperity guarantees increased intra-regional and continental trade, which will be an alternative driver of growth . . .” he says.

However, Mabena cautions that several risks could undermine this positive trajectory including the non-alignment of regional policies, which creates openings for parties from the Americas, Europe and Asia to exploit individual SADC member States, as well as the lack of coordinated mining regulation and policy at the SADC Secretariat level.

MIASA is addressing policy and regulatory alignment through its knowledge-sharing initiatives. Meanwhile, the re-establishment of the SADC Forum of Mining Ministers, as discussed at the Investing in African Mining Indaba that took place in February in Cape Town, could have significant impact in facilitating cooperation on regional policy and regulatory alignment, adds Mabena.