Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has appointed Brenda Tambatamba as Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, placing a former mining industry executive in charge of the country's efforts to expand copper production.
Zambia’s Chambishi copper mine has recorded a new milestone in underground development, with a tunnel-boring machine excavating 422.4 metres in one month during trials on the Southeast Orebody Project.
Vedanta's Konkola Copper Mines plans a $317m, 300MW coal-fired power plant in southern Zambia, as President Hakainde Hichilema presses the company to accelerate investment to support copper growth.
Zambia exported 446,100t of refined copper in the first half of 2026, up 7.4%, while national mine production grew only 0.45% to 447,200t, official and company data show.
Zambia and the DRC have signed a bilateral agreement to streamline customs at Kasumbalesa and Mokambo, aiming to cut truck queue times that currently average 72 hours.
Kobaloni Energy is developing a 6,000-tonne-a-year cobalt sulphate refinery in Zambia aimed at European battery makers, positioning it as Africa's first large-scale plant of its kind.
Chinese group Sinomine is pushing its Kitumba copper project in Zambia's Mumbwa district toward trial production, with a full concentrator commissioning targeted for late 2026.
President Hakainde Hichilema announced in July 2026 that Zambia has discovered further copper deposits near Mumbwa's Kitumba mine, promising a new mine and jobs for the district.
First Quantum's Sentinel mine produced 50,335t of copper in the second quarter, up 5,083t, while Kansanshi slipped on planned maintenance; both kept 2026 guidance unchanged.
A wave of sustainability-linked mining bonds was in development across Zambia and the DRC as of 24 July 2026, aiming to raise over $100m per deal to formalise artisanal miners and fund shared infrastructure alongside industrial projects.
Tanzania and Zambia have broken ground on a new training centre and operations control centre in Dar es Salaam, the first physical construction under TAZARA's $1.4bn revitalisation project.
Maamba Energy's $450m Phase II expansion, adding 300MW of thermal capacity plus a 100MW solar plant, is targeted for completion around July 2026, doubling Zambia's largest independent power producer.
Zambia and Zimbabwe have each committed $220m in public equity to the long-delayed Batoka Gorge hydro scheme, a $4.2bn, 2,400MW project on the Zambezi, and held a market-sounding session in June 2026.
Zambia's power utility ZESCO says the country's electricity supply is stable and nationwide load management will not return this year, citing improved hydro, thermal and solar generation.
Mopani Copper Mines said it has no plan to export concentrate under Zambia's latest duty waiver, despite receiving the largest allocation of 100,000t, and will instead feed its own smelter.
Zambia has extended its 10% export duty waiver on copper concentrate to 30 September 2026, covering almost 272,000 tonnes, as smelter maintenance and outages limit domestic processing capacity.
Zambia has cleared Chambishi Copper Smelter and Mopani Copper Mines to resume limited sulphuric acid exports to the DRC, after domestic stocks recovered from months of shortage.
ZCCM-IH's chief executive said in May 2026 the Zambian state investment company was working to raise its stake in KoBold Metals' Mingomba copper project to 25% from 20%, after already lifting its Lubambe Copper Mines stake to 30%.
Midnight Sun Mining has extended its Dumbwa copper discovery in Zambia to more than 5.3 kilometres of strike, with assays confirming several thick, high-grade zones.
Zambia produced 208,992t of copper in the first quarter of 2026, down 4.27% year on year, although output from large-scale mines rose 1.8%, Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe said.
Barrick said construction of the $2bn Lumwana Super Pit expansion in Zambia advanced on schedule in the first quarter, with 2026 capex expected at the lower end of its $750m–$850m range.
The DRC is seeking a stake in the $270m Kalumbila-Kolwezi power interconnector after Zambia's energy regulator approved construction, a line designed to carry up to 550MW between the two countries' copperbelts.
The DRC is weighing a stake in a $270m power link to Zambia to ease electricity shortages in its copper belt, as mining expansion outpaces the domestic grid.
AI-driven explorer KoBold Metals has broken ground on shaft construction at its Mingomba copper project in Zambia, targeting first output in the early 2030s.
