Mining 2026

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

they obtain prior consent from the Commission. In practice, this takes the form of a lender to the licence holder taking a charge over the mining right or taking a charge over the shares of the licence holder. Where the licence holder is also the legal owner of the land over which the mining right exists, the licence holder may also create a mortgage over the land on which the mining right subsists. On enforcement of the security created over the min - ing right or the licence holder, the lender can, among other powers of enforcement, take possession of the mining rights and resulting products, including residue deposits and mineral products. Related assets Security interests can also be created over movable property under the Movable Property (Security Inter - est) Act No 3 of 2016 (the “MPSI Act”). The MPSI Act allows the creation of security interests in movable tangible and intangible assets (such as machinery, equipment, exploration data or receivables) to secure the payment of a debt or the performance of an obli - gation. To establish a security interest: • the secured creditor and debtor (eg, a mining com - pany) must execute a security agreement detailing the terms of the security interest, the collateral, and the obligations secured; and • the security interest is perfected by registering a financing statement in the collateral registry main - A perfected security interest takes precedence over an unperfected one. Where two or more security interests are perfected, priority is determined by the chronological order of their creation and perfection. Licence holders can also create fixed and floating charges over their mining assets. These charges must be registered. Enforcement of security interests In the event of debtor default, secured creditors have several enforcement rights, including: tained under the MPSI Act. Priority of security interests

• repossession or disposal: creditors may seize or sell the encumbered mining tenements and related assets to recover their debts; and • the disputes arising from enforcement actions are resolved through legal processes in line with Zam - bian law. 6. Mining: Outlook and Trends 6.1 Two-Year Forecast for the Mining Sector The mining sector in Zambia is poised for significant growth over the next two years, both in terms of exploration and mineral production. Zambia is expected to enact new mining legislation that transfers regulatory authority from the Ministry of Mines to a separate entity. Under this framework, the Ministry will no longer issue or regulate mining licences. On the exploration front, activity is expected to surge, particularly in the western, northern, and north-west - ern provinces, which remain largely underexplored. Advancements in technology, especially the integra - tion of AI into exploration processes, have sparked renewed interest in these previously untapped regions. The focus will extend beyond traditional minerals like copper to include critical resources such as man - ganese, lithium, and cobalt, driven by rising global demand for these materials to support the green energy transition. In terms of production, Zambia is set to increase its copper output from approximately 800,000 metric tonnes to over one million metric tonnes. This growth is attributed to the revitalisation of key mining assets such as Mopani Copper Mines, Kansanshi Copper Mines, and Luanshya 28 Mine, which were previously dormant but are now gearing up for operations. Addi - tionally, major players such as First Quantum Miner - als (FQM) and Barrick Lumwana have made substan - tial investments to expand their copper production capacity.

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