{"id":349465,"date":"2026-03-26T21:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/349465\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T21:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:55:13","slug":"canadian-mining-giants-lead-zambias-copper-expansion-as-output-nears-record-1-million-tonnes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/349465\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian mining giants lead Zambia\u2019s copper expansion as output nears record 1 million tonnes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n        Last year, Zambia posted its highest ever production of almost 890,346\u202ftonnes, and \u201cthis year without a doubt, definitely we\u2019ll go beyond a million,\u201d Kabuswe told reporters in Lusaka in January.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        In 2025, copper prices surged nearly 50%, crossing $13,000 per tonne for the first time. Congo and Zambia, Africa\u2019s largest copper producers, are among the biggest beneficiaries of the rally.\n    <\/p>\n<p>        Canadian-owned mines drive Zambia\u2019s copper surge<\/p>\n<p>\n        Major contributors to this output increase are expansions at two of Zambia\u2019s largest copper producers.\n    <\/p>\n<p>                    <img width=\"500\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Copper exports account for around 70% of Zambia\u2019s export earnings and are crucial to its GDP.\" title=\"Copper exports account for around 70% of Zambia\u2019s export earnings and are crucial to its GDP.\" class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'500'%20height%3D'300'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/m_6ktkpTURBXy8yZTg5MjViNzVlN2IyNDU4ZWI1NzVhOGRkZWEwOTdkNS5qcGeSlQMAAM0B9M0BLJUCzQH0zQEswsM\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>\n        At the Kansanshi mine, a joint venture majority-owned by Canadian company First Quantum Minerals and Zambia\u2019s state miner ZCCM\u2011IH, a US$1.25\u202fbillion expansion has boosted throughput and stabilised production through improved processing capacity.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Meanwhile, the Lumwana copper mine owned by Canadian-based Barrick Gold is undergoing a multi\u2011billion-dollar expansion, expected to raise annual output significantly as new facilities come online.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Zambia\u2019s government has also signalled <a href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/local\/markets\/top-10-copper-exporting-countries-in-africa\/tnjv7sl\" id=\"746b25d8-909c-4da0-b944-b1247362e628\" data-link-role-code=\"open_new_tab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">long-term ambition <\/a>beyond the 1\u202fmillion-tonne milestone.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Under its National Three Million Tonnes Copper Production Strategy, authorities are targeting a three-fold increase to 3\u202fmillion\u202ftonnes annually by the early 2030s through a combination of brownfield expansions, greenfield projects, and artisanal mining development.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Industry analysts say hitting and exceeding 1\u202fmillion\u202ftonnes will solidify Zambia\u2019s status as a key global copper supplier amid rising demand for electrification and renewable energy, while supporting foreign exchange earnings, employment, and investor confidence.\n    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last year, Zambia posted its highest ever production of almost 890,346\u202ftonnes, and \u201cthis year without a doubt, definitely&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-349465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}