Zambia Approves Export Tax Relief for 270,000 Tons of Copper

The decision is essentially a short-term relief valve for Zambia’s copper sector, but it also signals structural stress in the local processing chain. In the immediate term, it benefits miners directly. Companies like First Quantum Minerals, Barrick Mining (through Lumwana), and other producers can now move stockpiled copper concentrate that would otherwise sit idle. That improves cash flow, reduces storage pressure, and helps maintain export revenues while smelters are offline or operating below capacity. For the broader industry, however, it highlights a bottleneck in Zambia’s ambition to move up the value chain. The country has long aimed to process more copper domestically rather than export raw concentrate, but repeated maintenance issues and technical constraints at smelters are forcing a return to exporting unprocessed material. That weakens the policy push for beneficiation and keeps the economy more exposed to global price swings in raw copper.

Zambia has extended a temporary suspension of its 10% export tax on copper concentrates until Sept. 30, allowing miners to ship stockpiled material while domestic smelting facilities undergo maintenance and repairs, authorities said.

The waiver covers up to 271,742 metric tons of copper concentrate and is intended to ease bottlenecks caused by reduced processing capacity at local smelters, which have faced technical disruptions in recent months. The policy extension follows an initial suspension introduced in August 2025.

Major mining firms allocated export quotas under the exemption include Mopani Copper Mines, Lumwana Mining Company, First Quantum Minerals, Nkana Mining and Minerals Processing, Lubambe Copper Mine and Konkola Copper Mines.

Mopani Copper Mines received the largest allocation of up to 100,000 metric tons. The company is jointly owned by International Resources Holding of Abu Dhabi and Zambia’s state mining investment arm, ZCCM-IH.

Lumwana Mining Company, a subsidiary of Barrick Mining Corp, was allocated 56,986 metric tons, while First Quantum Minerals and Chinese-owned Nkana Mining and Minerals Processing each received about 43,000 metric tons.

Lubambe Copper Mine, majority-owned by China’s JCHX Mining, was granted 15,000 metric tons, and Vedanta Resources’ Konkola Copper Mines was allocated 12,541 metric tons.

Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, exported 890,346 metric tons of copper in 2025 and has set a long-term target of increasing annual output to 3 million metric tons by 2031.

The government has in recent years sought to balance export earnings with domestic beneficiation, though periodic smelter constraints have forced temporary policy shifts to allow greater exports of unprocessed concentrate.

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