ZAMBIA has extended a suspension of its 10% copper concentrate export duty to 30 September, giving miners more time to clear stockpiles of unprocessed material while major smelters undergo extended maintenance, said Reuters.
The waiver, first introduced in August 2025, covers 271,742 tons of copper concentrates across several producers.
Mopani Copper Mines, jointly owned by Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holding and state company ZCCM-IH, has the largest quota at 100,000 tons. Barrick Mining’s Lumwana operation has an allocation of 56,986 tons, followed by First Quantum Minerals and Chinese-owned Nkana Mining and Minerals Processing with around 43,000 tons each.
Lubambe Copper Mine, 70% owned by China’s JCHX Mining, has a 15,000-ton quota, while Vedanta’s Konkola Copper Mines is allocated 12,541 tons.
Zambia typically exports copper as refined cathode rather than concentrate, and the duty waiver represents a temporary departure from that model driven by smelter outages, said Reuters. Technical challenges at processing facilities have weighed on refined output across the industry, it added.
The extension comes as Zambia pursues an ambitious production expansion programme. The country exported 890,346 tons of copper in 2025 and has set a target of three million tons annually by 2031, which would make it one of the world’s largest producers.
Copper is a critical material for electrical infrastructure and has been designated by the Trump administration as essential to US economic and national security, adding to global interest in African supply.
