Friday, April 19, 2024

Mining sector leads Zambia’s foreign earnings

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Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament and officials from their Zambian embassy are dwarfed by giant 300-tonne Komatsu dump truck on their recent visit to the Chingola Open Pits operations of Konkola Copper Mines.
Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament and officials from their Zambian embassy are dwarfed by giant 300-tonne Komatsu dump truck on their recent visit to the Chingola Open Pits operations of Konkola Copper Mines.

The mining sector has contributed more than 63 % of Zambia’s earning from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) pledges during the third quarter of 2012.

Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Research, Planning and Policy Director Florence Mumba says out of the total earnings of about $2.8 billion (KR 14.2 billion) the mining sector raked in investment of more than $1.7 billion (about KR8 billion).

Ms Mumba was speaking to ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today.

She said through the FDIs mining had also scored the highest number of pledged employment opportunities of over 1,200 jobs.

Ms Mumba attributed FDI inflows in mining to sound economic policies by the government and also the investor confidence in the Kalimbila project which is to become Zambia’s largest single mine with production capacity of more than 300,000 tonnes of copper outturn.

She revealed that Energy and manufacturing sectors also generated substantial earnings from the FDIs with energy raking in $700 million (about KR 3.5 billion) and manufacturing bringing in $92 million (KR 460 million) and job pledges being 115 and 754 respectively.

And Ms Mumba has said ZDA has identified several sectors for the year 2013 likely to continue attracting FDIs among them infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, agro processing, manufacturing, and energy, stating that the latter was the cornerstone for all development.

She explained that every sector depended on energy and therefore when that sector was sorted all other sectors fulfilled their potential and drove the economic development of the country.

ZANIS

9 COMMENTS

  1. Good statistics but whose forex? When i drive through chirundu post my heart bleeds at the high number of plant and equipment headed for the copperbelt.When the PF came to power i was hopeful that Govt would increase its share in the mines and entities like Zambian Breweries, Zambia suger and so on.Even the winful tax is dead. My president what has happened to you? i still have hope table the wasting assets industry issue once again this is robbery gonig on,botswana its 50% govt and the rest the owners, lets get even 20% from mines. Please

    • Totally agree. In developed countries, citizens have money to buy shares and therefore can benefit from billions generated through a thriving economy. In zambia 8% growth – and yet majority Zambians wallow in abject poverty because there is no way for most Zambia to take part in this economy. Bystanders at their own bountiful table – how painful! Increasing govt equity in mines means Zambians will benefit in many more ways – pls twapapata!

  2. God is not happy when we damage His earth through mining activities like Open Pits. His original plan was that the earth be like Garden of Eden, not like Chingola open pits and dumping sites. We shall be punished indeed.

  3. Thanks, the mines. But please lets be environmentally friendly. How about planting indigenous trees in areas and the peripherals of the mines. Have we harmonized the metal exports data at BoZ, ZRA and the mines to see if the figures tally?
    By the way, lets save those dollars. We might need them If rebasing hits a snag with the possible consequences of going the Zimbabwe way …. As things stand, rebasing has really tested and stretched our arithematic skills as Zambians. Kaya, uko! Unga seka monga vya wama!

  4. u r saying that the mine is contributing more than 63%.. why kcm wants to reduce labour .this month (january 2013) kcm is scheduled to prune more miners and employ more indians. why …..kcm has indian contractors who are bringing their fellow indians nd to make matters worse they don’t have silicosis certificates which is a requirement for one to be employed. my brothers with valid silicosis certificates are just loitering in the streets. this is unfair to all zambians .. Why are they bringing Grindermen,welders, gas cutters as expertriates.. why why why…my fellow zambians are not being employed because of the same.. me i cannot agree with you that the mines is providing employment .. from which album…….
    what is mr sata doing about this? .You promised

    Frustrated…

  5. thats what happens when you sale companies the owners do what pleases their countrymen,Only solution Govt should buy back up to 30% shares, then they can have a say unlike relaying on KCMs good well.My heart bleeds. Mr president we are still hopeful.

  6. i have been wondering why we seem not to know how much copper leaves the country. just from where the minerals are mined, we have our own tally men, we have our own men who watch weightometers in the concentators, smelters and refineries. its our men who load the finished products, its our men who are managing the weighbridges as the copper is being transported away from the mines. and we still claim we dont know how much leaves the country. all the senior guys in mining receive daily reports of what is being mined. we should avoid pretending that we dont know what is happening and want to pass the back to someone else. we can also follow the prices of metals on the LME.

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