Kabuswe added that the country exported approximately 1,876.7 tonnes of cobalt during the same period.
He was responding to a question from Chilubi Member of Parliament Mulenga Fube, who sought to know the annual tonnage of cobalt produced and exported between 2019 and 2024.
The minister attributed the relatively low levels of cobalt production to the poor performance of copper mines in previous years.
“The amount of cobalt produced countrywide from 2019 to 2024, year by year, was as follows: 2019, 367 tonnes; 2020, 221 tonnes; 2021, 240 tonnes; 2022, 251 tonnes; 2023, 226 tonnes; and 2024, 96 tonnes,” Kabuswe said.
He explained that cobalt is largely produced as a by-product of copper mining, and that fluctuations in copper production directly affect cobalt output.
Kabuswe noted that Government is implementing measures aimed at revitalising the mining sector in order to increase both copper and cobalt production.
He said improved performance in the mining industry is expected to enhance output levels and boost export earnings for the country.
The minister added that ongoing investments and reforms in the sector are aimed at strengthening production capacity and ensuring sustainable growth in mineral output.
Why don’t we manufacture lithium batteries mwebantu? Why haven’t Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Uganda come together to initiate industry around their vast cobalt, lithium, nickel and manganese deposits?
Yet we have been victims of loadshedding for 5 years!
Are we still very mentally enslaved to exporting single raw products to European Colonial masters? Any political party willing to put this in its manifesto this year?
And Ba Kabuswe, how did we export 1846 tonnes of cobalt?
When we produced 1,401 tonnes?