Leveraging Copper for Economic Transformation
Policy choices for value addition in Zambia
The report highlights key opportunities for Zambia to grow its copper processing and manufacturing industries. It analyzes challenges facing the country's copper-based industries and assesses how the country's policies respond to these. Finally, it provides recommendations on how to harness copper processing and manufacturing for sustainable development.
Recommendations
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Government should focus industrial development efforts on the copper value chain by expanding smelting and refining, aligned with the planned increase in mine output under the 3MT strategy.
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Access to reliable and affordable electricity should be the most urgent priority for copper value addition. Accelerating investment in generation capacity is essential, including by implementing efforts to get to cost-reflective tariffs combined with targeted protection for vulnerable households.
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To foster competitiveness in its value chains, Zambian authorities can consider strengthening the development of special economic zones/industrial parks and infrastructures close to copper mines.
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Corridor strategies and trade facilitation are core tools to boost copper exports to meet rising demand in Africa. Investment in transport and energy corridors, alongside reforms to customs, digital trade systems, and border posts, are key to cutting costs and improving competitiveness.
Copper is central to Zambia’s economy. The country is the world’s 10th-largest copper producer, and copper accounted for around 60% of export revenues in 2023. Yet, the country’s heavy reliance on mining exposes it to risks, including slower growth, limited diversification, weak job creation, and heightened vulnerability to external shocks.
Against this backdrop, deeper participation in the copper value chain—through processing and manufacturing—offers a potential pathway to strengthen resilience and domestic linkages. Still, value addition is not automatic. Its benefits depend on careful sequencing, competitiveness, and the ability to address binding constraints while proactively managing social and environmental costs.
With global demand for copper expected to remain strong, and projections pointing to persistent supply shortfalls into the mid-2030s, Zambia is therefore well placed to expand its role in copper value chains.
Participating experts
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