The Zambian government has unveiled a new strategy to partner with large-scale investors in a bid to modernize and expand gold mining across the country, with a strong focus on community participation and equitable development.
Hapenga Kabeta, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, announced the initiative on Friday, describing it as a deliberate effort to unlock the sector’s full potential while ensuring that ordinary Zambians benefit from the nation’s mineral wealth.
Kabeta emphasized that working with experienced investors would help transform Zambia’s gold mining landscape by improving productivity, introducing safer and more efficient methods, and creating sustainable economic opportunities for local communities, particularly young people.
This renewed push comes in the wake of recent discoveries of gold deposits in multiple regions, which have also sparked a surge in illegal mining. In response, the government plans to subdivide mining areas in places like Mufumbwe District in the Western Province and allocate them to registered cooperatives. The goal is to curb dangerous nomadic mining practices while giving local miners structured, long-term access to resources.
The model will be replicated in other gold-rich areas of the country, Kabeta added.
To further enhance safety in the sector, the ministry will roll out a new “pit-side manual” in the coming month. This guide is aimed at educating small-scale miners on best practices to reduce accidents and fatalities often associated with informal mining.
In a move to boost transparency and improve pricing for local miners, the government also plans to establish formal market centers where cooperatives can sell their gold. These trading hubs will be modeled on successful frameworks already in place in countries like Ghana and Tanzania.
Kabeta affirmed that these combined efforts would help transform Zambia’s gold mining into a more inclusive and transparent industry, supporting the country’s wider economic development goals while offering communities a real stake in the nation’s natural resources.
