Hichilema Tells Mining Indaba Zambia Is Back on Track as Investment Surges Past $12 Billion

ZIT — President Hakainde Hichilema has declared that Zambia’s mining sector has entered a new phase of growth and stability, telling delegates at the 2026 Mining Indaba that the country has moved from crisis to recovery through reforms that have already attracted more than US$12 billion in new investment.

Addressing the continent’s premier mining conference, Hichilema reflected on the message Zambia brought to the Indaba in 2022 — a promise to reform a sector he said was “in difficulty” at the time his administration took office.

“We have been planting the seeds of reform,” the President said. “Today, at the 2026 Indaba, we have returned with results.”

He pointed to the revival of some of Zambia’s most strategic mining assets, including Kansanshi, Lumwana, Mopani and Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), all of which he said are now back on a growth path after years of uncertainty.

According to the President, Zambia’s copper output rose by 12 percent in 2024 and a further 8 percent in 2025, underscoring what he described as renewed investor confidence in the country’s regulatory and economic environment.

But Hichilema said the government’s ambitions go beyond short-term recovery. He announced a long-term target of producing three million tonnes of copper within the next decade, supported by an expanded geological survey programme that is opening up new areas for exploration.

“New investors are entering Zambia. We are building the infrastructure and institutions to make it happen,” he told delegates.

The President framed the mining resurgence as a national development tool, linking higher production to job creation, increased public revenue and wider economic opportunity.

“For every Zambian, more mining means more jobs, more revenue for schools and clinics, and more opportunities for local businesses,” he said.

As Zambia positions itself as a stable and open destination for capital, Hichilema said the country remains committed to completing the reform agenda his government launched after taking office.

“Zambia is open, stable, and committed to finishing what we started,” he said. “The seeds are sprouting — and the harvest is coming.”