Mining 2026

ZAMBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Harriet Mdala, Natasha Lungu, Samuel Muleya and Chanda Musonda-Chiluba, MAY & Company

• Article 4 (1)(g) of the UNFCCC requires the parties to promote and co-operate in scientific, technolog - ical, technical, socio-economic and other research related to the climate system, intended to further the understanding and to reduce/eliminate the remaining uncertainties regarding climate change. Furthermore, Article 6 (8) of the Paris Agreement recognises various approaches that can assist countries in the implementation of their NDCs, including finance, technology transfer and capac - ity building. Accordingly, Section 34 of the Climate Change Act establishes the Green Economy and Climate Change Fund and sets out some of the applications of the Fund. 3.3 Sustainable Development Initiatives Related to Mining Zambia has various sustainable development goals (SDGs) as the government of Zambia is committed to the implementation of the transformative 2030 Agen - da for Sustainable Development. Some of the SDGs include the following. • The Climate Change Act transposes various provi - sions of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement into domestic law, thereby demonstrating Zam - bia’s commitment to effective climate action. The Climate Change Act has not yet been enacted into law. Once enacted, the Climate Change Act will be a significant piece of legislation that aligns Zam - bia’s legal framework with international obligations in respect of climate action. • The government of Zambia has resolved to transi - tion the country to a green economy. The National Green Growth Strategy 2024-2030 has been formulated to promote development pathways that lead to Zambia’s transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient, resilient and socially inclusive economy by 2030. • The Zambia UN Sustainable Development Co- operation Framework (UNSDCF) presents the collective offer of the UN system to strengthen Zambia’s progress towards the SDGs and the implementation of its international legal obligations. 3.4 Energy-Transition Minerals Zambia does not have legislative initiatives related to energy-transition minerals. However, Section 4 (2)(l) of

the Climate Change Act places responsibility for over - seeing the revision and updating of the NDCs on the Department of Green Economy and Climate Change. Furthermore, Zambia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains with the EU, represented by the European Commission, on 26 October 2023. The MoU asserts that securing the supply of strate - gic and critical raw materials (CRMs) in a sustainable manner is an essential prerequisite for ensuring the green transition. The availability of strategic and CRMs, such as cop - per, lithium, cobalt, manganese and natural graphite for batteries, or rare earth elements for permanent magnets for wind turbines, electric motors or comput - er data storage devices, represents an enabling fac - tor for decarbonising energy production, connectivity, and mobility, while promoting green and digital eco - nomic transformation. It also provides for increased extraction and transformation of strategic and CRMs, as well as the development of related value chains, coupled with strong commitments to ESG standards, notably concerning transparency, traceability and the contribution to peace and stability in the region. Another initiative is Zambia’s critical minerals strat - egy, which was launched to harness Zambia’s criti - cal mineral resources. The strategy aims to balance geopolitical interests with local impacts, ensuring that the benefits of mineral exploitation reach underserved communities. Additionally, the government has set an objective to achieve the production of three million metric tonnes of copper by 2032, amongst other objectives in the extractive/mining industry. 4. Taxation of Mining and Exploration 4.1 Mining and Exploration Duties, Royalties and Taxes The Minerals Act requires holders of mining rights and licences to pay mineral royalty tax (MRT) as consid - eration for the extraction of minerals from Zambia.

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