3 Million Tonnes of Copper Production Target Achievable – Govt

Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry is optimistic that the 3 million tonnes of copper production target that government aims to achieve by 2031 will be attained.

Speaking at the Sustainability Conference held in the Germany city of Hamburg, Permanent Secretary Crusivia Hichikumba said government wants to leverage on copper mining in order to achieve stronger development outcomes.

Mr. Hichikumba noted that beneficiation of value addition of the copper mineral resource has been very limited, yet the country is heavily dependent on copper mining, therefore government aims to increase activities clustered around the copper resources.

“The goals of the United Nations framework convention on climate change presents Zambia a new opportunity to leverage some of its national resources for climate change adaptation and mitigation,” Mr. Hichikumba stated.

And Mr. Hichikumba said Zambia also looking to benefit from the shift in mobility from dependency on fossil transport systems to electrical transport innovations.

“It is in this regard that Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed an agreement in 2022 to establish special economic zones for the production of electric vehicle battery precursors and batteries with the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Africa Export and Import Bank.”

“This joint initiative presents Zambia with an opportunity to effectively harness its strategic battery mineral resources to break the vicious circle stemming from the excessive dependency on the export of natural resources by creating more value, strengthening production capacities and enhancing exports,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hichikumba called on Germany and Serbian investors to set up green hydrogen production facilities in Zambia.

He noted that following the devastating drought that Zambia experienced during the 2023/2024 rain season, the country’s hydro dependent electricity generation has greatly reduced, hence the need to look at other sources of electricity such as green hydrogen which Zambia has capacity to produce.

The Hamburg 2024 Sustainability Conference attracted participants from across the globe and Zambia’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Winnie Natala Chibesakunda represented President Hakainde Hichilema.

This is according to a statement made available by First Secretary-Press at the Zambian Embassy in Berlin, Germany, Lubinda Kashewe.