Strategy to Future-Proof Zambia's Mining Industry

This briefing by Good Governance Africa outlines the economic challenges facing Zambia's mining sector and recommends a profit-based Mineral Royalty Tax (MRT) framework to attract investment and increase copper production for the global energy transition.

• Zambia's mining sector has suffered from investment decline and a loss of the associated multiplier effect due to historical instability in the mining regulatory system, specifically volatile changes to mining taxes made by previous governments in response to copper price fluctuations.
• Poor macroeconomic governance and the slowing of mining growth contributed to unsustainable national debt levels because exports were insufficient for debt repayment, leading Zambia to seek debt relief from external creditors and reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
• To address declining copper ore grades and capitalize on the global demand for copper for net-zero goals, the document recommends implementing a profit-based Mineral Royalty Tax (MRT) framework. To mitigate the risk of mining companies exploiting this system through false claims of capital investment, the author suggests combining the tax framework with the reporting standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

APA

Obisie-Orlu, V. (2022). Strategy to Future-Proof Zambia's Mining Industry. Good Governance Africa. https://gga.org/strategy-to-future-proof-zambias-mining-industry/

Chicago

Obisie-Orlu, Vincent. Strategy to Future-Proof Zambia's Mining Industry. Good Governance Africa, 2022. https://gga.org/strategy-to-future-proof-zambias-mining-industry/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Obisie-Orlu |first1=Vincent |title=Strategy to Future-Proof Zambia's Mining Industry |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=9 November 2022 |url=https://gga.org/strategy-to-future-proof-zambias-mining-industry/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{obisieorlu2022strategy, author = {Obisie-Orlu, Vincent}, title = {{Strategy to Future-Proof Zambia's Mining Industry}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://gga.org/strategy-to-future-proof-zambias-mining-industry/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }