By JAMES KUNDA –
The Chamber of Mines of Zambia (CMZ) has pledged to work closely with Government to enhance value addition and promote local entrepreneurship in the mining industry.
Chief executive officer Maureen Dlamini said there was huge potential for green field operations owing to the high grade of copper and other minerals in the country and hence the need to promote value addition.
She said the chamber would continue to play its role of enhancing value addition and promotion of local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the mining sector.
She said Zambia was a key player in the global mining industry where it is currently ranked the 7th largest copper producer in the world.
We are pleased to note that the current Government is willing to engage the chamber in promoting  and enhancing its contribution to economic advancement of the country,” Ms Dlamini said.
Ms Dlamini added that, the Chamber and the industry have both  been given the fora to interact with Government on various policy-related issues.
While the  Zambian mining industry has continued to attract massive investments such as, the latest US$ 2.4 billion Kalumbila Mine by First Quantum Minerals in Solwezi, the sector was still facing serious challenges.
Some of the challenges include high energy and transport costs and a highly regulated environment coupled with skills shortage.
The  Government, Chamber and the mining industry,  have been  pooling  resources with the Chamber, to enable training institutions come up with manpower development programmes to improve the skills base of the sector..
Zambia has been politically stable for the past 49 years and will continue to be so, providing an enabling environment
for investors both local and foreign to operate in the sector.
Once operational, the Kalumbila Mine will produce 300,000 tonnes of copper per annum and will lift Zambia’s production of the same to over one million tonnes