ZAMBIA’S state-controlled mining investment firm has formed a joint venture to bring order to the artisanal gold trade in the country’s North-Western Province, said Bloomberg News.
ZCCM Investments Holdings said it would hold 51% of Kyalo Goldfields, with Mining Mineral Resources owning the remainder.
The vehicle, incorporated on 6 May, will operate in the Kikonge area, which was overrun by an unruly gold rush that began in mid-2025 when thousands of people descended on the site to dig for gold. Security forces subsequently intervened to clear artisanal miners from the area, said Bloomberg News.
Kyalo’s activities will include formalising and making safer artisanal mining in Kikonge, introducing more mechanised production and developing processing capabilities, ZCCM said. The venture “represents a key step in ZCCM-IH’s strategy to expand its footprint in the gold sector and strengthen Zambia’s gold value chain,” it added.
MMR is headquartered in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where it specialises in mining and processing gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten.
Another firm within the same conglomerate is already a shareholder in a joint venture that launched Congo’s first state-backed gold refinery in March, the newswire said.
Both Zambia and Congo are seeking to capture greater value from a trade long associated with smuggling, which has deprived their governments of tax revenues. Gold has experienced a record-breaking price rally in recent years, drawing fresh attention to artisanal and small-scale mining across the region.
