Zambia's President announces new copper discovery near Kitumba mine in Mumbwa

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema announced in late July 2026 that the government has confirmed further copper deposits in Mumbwa district, Central Province, close to the $600 million Kitumba copper mine already under development there by Chinese group Sinomine. Speaking in Mumbwa, Hichilema said the deposits, identified over the preceding month, would support another mine in the district and pledged that local people would be prioritised for jobs.

From overlooked to overrun with copper

Hichilema struck a pointed tone about the district's history, saying "I recall when the people of Mumbwa were ridiculed and called 'ba mumbwa mumbwa,' but this transformative investment will change Mumbwa's reputation." He announced plans for a skills training centre in the district so residents can qualify for jobs at the new and existing mines, alongside road upgrades including the Chibuluma-Namwala, Farmers-Blue Lagoon and Mumbwa-Ngabwe-Kasempa routes to bituminous standard, and tarring of township roads in Mumbwa town.

Why it matters

Mumbwa, previously known mainly for agriculture and game management areas, is emerging as a new node on Zambia's copper map alongside the traditional Copperbelt and North-Western provinces. Sinomine's nearby Kitumba mine, an iron oxide copper-gold project with a resource of 27.9 million tonnes, is targeting the start of copper production in September 2026 after a $560 million investment, and a second confirmed deposit in the same district would extend Mumbwa's role in Zambia's push to triple national copper output to 3 million tonnes a year by 2031.

What happens next

No formal resource estimate or named developer for the new Mumbwa deposits has yet been published; the announcement so far reflects a government disclosure of exploration results rather than a company-led resource statement. The skills centre and road upgrades will be an early test of whether the promised local benefits materialise ahead of, or alongside, actual mine construction.

Sources

• Lusaka Times: Zambia: Govt. Announces Discovery Of More Copper Deposits In Mumbwa, 30 Jul 2026
• Open Zambia: HH Announces Major Copper Discovery and New Mine for Mumbwa, 30 Jul 2026

Photo: Savannah landscape near Mumbwa, Zambia, site of a newly announced copper discovery. This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author. I would m, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.