Zambia’s drive to increase copper production is a major economic opportunity, but the discussion must go beyond the number of tonnes produced. Higher copper output must be matched by stronger economic complementarities across the wider spectrum of economy.
As mines expand, pressure will inevitably increase on health, the environment, energy, water, transport, housing and social infrastructure. This means Zambia must prepare these supporting and complimentary sectors alongside its mining policy ambitions.
Mining expansion must be strongly accompanied by stronger fundamental factors such as occupational health and safety systems, community healthcare, environmental monitoring, water protection, responsible waste management and effective mine rehabilitation.
Increased production will also require reliable and affordable electricity, improved roads and rail infrastructure, skilled labour and stronger local supply chains. Without these complementary investments, higher copper production could create bottlenecks that limit the broader economic benefits.
The economic test should therefore not simply be how many tonnes of copper Zambia produces, but how much development those tonnes create which by extension speaks into value addition as well.
More copper should translate into jobs, higher local procurement, increased tax revenues, industrialisation, technology transfer, infrastructure development and stronger domestic productive capacity.
We must avoid a situation where mining expands while environmental degradation, pressure on public services and community inequalities also increase. The improvement and tangible benefits of copper expansion must be broad-based, felt across segments of the economy and must be sustainable.
Ultimately, Zambia’s copper strategy should be managed as a national economic transformation programme, where production growth, social development, environmental protection, infrastructure investment and fiscal benefits move together.
The objective should not merely be to produce more copper, but to use copper production as a catalyst for a more productive, diversified and inclusive Zambian economy.
By Kelvin Chisanga
