The World Bank (WB) has recently released the Zambia Mining Investment and Governance Review (MinGov) that collects detailed information from the sector and highlights its attractiveness to investors.
The data was collected through interviews with the main stakeholders in the Zambian mining sector: government,, private investors and civil society.
Among the key findings, operational activities and the content of laws and regulations are the strongest topic within the mining value chain.
On the other hand, the availability of geological information, an unstable fiscal policy and lack of investments in related infrastructure are among the main constraints of the mining sector.
In terms of mining value chain, taxation and state participation are valued as the main factor in the performance of the mining sector in Zambia.
Additionally, in terms of themes all stakeholders value the political environment, accountability and inclusiveness, and policy legislation and regulation as the mist impactful for the sector’s performance.
Mining has been and is expected to be the most important sector in Zambia’s development due to its long history and large known resource base of copper and other deposits, the WB indicates.
In 2014 Zambia mined 730,000 tonnes of copper that accounted for 85% of the national mining revenue.
Mining represented 12% of the country’s GDP in 2014, 70% of exports and 28% of the national revenue in the same year.
In addition, it contributes with 90,000 jobs with 82% within the formal sector and accounting for 8.3% of total formal employment in Zambia, according to WB latest statistics.
The WB currently manages 14 active projects in agriculture, management, financial sector development, and highways in Zambia, while 129 have been completed in the last four years at an average investment of USD123.25m per annum.
