Zambia's state mining investment company, ZCCM Investments Holdings, intends to increase its minority shareholdings in the country's mining assets, Chief Executive Kakenenwa Muyangwa said in an interview with Reuters on May 15, 2026. Muyangwa was explicit that any stake increases would be pursued on commercial terms and would not involve compulsory acquisition or forced sales.
ZCCM-IH currently holds interests as low as 10% in several operating mines, including assets owned by China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group, Canada's First Quantum Minerals, and India's Vedanta Resources. The company raised its stake in Lubambe Copper Mines to 30% from 20% last year following EMR Capital's exit, and is currently increasing its position in KoBold Metals' Mingomba project to 25% from 20%. Muyangwa described the objective as reaching a level of ownership that provides substantive governance influence rather than a passive financial interest.
For new mining developments where ZCCM-IH holds the underlying licence, the company intends to negotiate a free-carry position of between 5% and 15% before contributing capital to development costs, with the precise level subject to negotiation on a project-by-project basis. Muyangwa said the company has no plans to acquire stakes in operating mines in which it currently holds no interest.
To fund its expansion programme, ZCCM-IH is seeking to extend the royalty-to-revenue model it pioneered with First Quantum Minerals at the Kansanshi copper mine, where it holds a 20% stake and receives 3.1% of revenue in lieu of dividends. The arrangement has generated $110 million since 2022. The company is also evaluating the appointment of a financial adviser to support capital raising for future projects. Zambia has set a national copper production target of three million metric tonnes by 2031, more than triple its current output.
