ZIMEC 2025 Speaker Interview – Gilbert TEMBA, Managing Director, Newco Mining Consultancy
- The government of Zambia in August 2024 launched a National Critical Minerals Strategy. In your opinion how will the strategy and planned legislative reforms help to further attract investment into the local mining industry.
The NATIONAL CRITICAL MINERALS STRATEGY, which primarily targets achievement of production of THREE MILLION tonnes of COPPER per annum in the shortest possible time, signals government’s intention to promote and enhance exploration and development investment in ZAMBIA’S MINING sector. This strategy will require a rapid replenishment of resources and reserves at A RATE THAT IS EQUAL TO OR HIGHER THAN THE RATE OF EXTRACTION. The legislative changes to support this STRATEGY will therefore require to be aligned with the intentions of the government accordingly.
Minerals are a non-renewable resource. Mining starts with the discovery of economically mineable mineral resources. The targeted 3m tonnes of Copper production per annum calls for intensified exploration efforts in order to grow Zambia’s mineral (particularly the copper) resource inventory. Such mineral resources have to be explored and found. Discovery of mineral resources is an onerous and expensive process. Suffice to say Zambia is ELEPHANT country in terms of copper. Statistically only 1 in 10 000 exploration projects in the world, results in a WORLD CLASS MINE and invariably the process takes 10 to 20 years from greenfield to a defined mineral resource and reserves. Adding feasibility studies and permitting development and commissioning to that timeline, you are already in the 20 to 40 years period before you begin to see any economic results.
It is also important to “manage expectations” of the host communities, regions and the nation at large, who “never” feel the trickle down benefits of economic activities associated with mining. The incessant complaints about the lack of trickle-down benefits from the mining industry from tax authorities, local government authorities, local contractors, labour unions, traditional leaders and the general citizenry need to be addressed candidly. So, there is an IMPORTANT need to have a long-term view of the median period of 30 years in the crafting of the new legislation.
Also, KEY in the legislation should be the SECURITY OF TENURE for exploration license holders. Investors (local and foreign) need to have the comfort that their tenements will be secured over the requisite extended periods. Just as ASM mines activities lead to major discoveries, the local investors are a steppingstone that discover and open up mining districts to the majors. The recent acquisition of ARC MINERALS by ANGLO AMERICAN is a case in point.
The 3m tonnes per annum target will undoubtedly encourage existing mines to expand their mining and processing capacities too.
From the NewCo perspective, a key objective in the 3m strategy ought to be integrated into the new Act. There is also a need to address Capacity Capacity Building, Research and Development in exploration and mine development technologies. For example, Australia has specialist institutions like The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). It is a government agency responsible for mining research.
CSIRO’s research areas include exploration geoscience, environmental
management, mine safety, mineral processing science engineering and more . CSIRO has partnerships with industry, government, and the research sector. CSIRO’s Advanced Characterisation Facility provides information to improve understanding of mineral resources. NewCo can assist on how Zambia may create such a research and development institution.
- How do you intend to leverage your participation at ZIMEC 2025 to strengthen your market position and contribute to the development of Zambia’s mining industry?
NewCo will engage the government on how it can contribute to formalisation of Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners (ASM) to improve their operations with technically, environmentally sound and safe mining practices. This can be done through by winning them over on the benefits of avoiding wasteful mining practices and persevering the environment for the people that leave off the land as crop and pastoral farmers and fishermen and preserving water sources from contamination. Further, establishing a mechanism of fair/market prices for their products with an inbuilt and fair taxation mechanism at the point of sale or export. An assurance of their right to operate and grow. The health of the environment directly impacts the health of the inhabitant populations including the ASM miners themselves. Environmental protection, safety, and human rights (zero tolerance on child labour and abuse of women rights) will be cardinal in NewCo’s approach to ASM. In order to achieve this, community engagement, training and inspection of various sites where mining activities are taking place will be paramount.
However, this has to be agreed between NewCo and the ministry of mines, local communities and equally important willing partners to finance this new mining enterprise model. We have targeted the ASM sector because it is untapped and has the requisite vigour. The ASM sub sector has people with a lot of vigour and enthusiasm which has not been matched with corresponding vigor from mining technical, operational and technological standpoint. We intend to explore the introduction affordable modular plants for small scale mining and process from China or any geographical jurisdiction and combine it with safe and environmentally sound mining practices with a view to growing these ASM players into small scale and eventually large-scale miners. NewCo will grow together with them. The ASM poses significant risks to the environment and has built an unfortunate reputation for wasteful, unsafe and unregulated mining practices. Someone needs to step up to the challenge before these bad practices spiral out of control. NewCo is ready for the challenge.
Our sizeable and wide spectrum of skills and expertise among our consultants combined with local knowledge, regional and international exposure, is equal to the task. We cover nearly all key mining value chain pivotal points namely, financial and various technical specialisations (Investors key pain points on why and how they should invest in Zambia). We will seek collaboration with both mining and other consultancy companies based on our knowledge of the Central African Copperbelt region and our financial and technical expertise. We bring to the table the nuances of local knowledge. Accountability and transparency are non-negotiable in our ethos. Our collaborative efforts will offer local knowledge and international expertise to our potential clients. NewCo envisages itself as being an actor in the implementation of operations, although it insists on broad consultations for technical and operational inputs in the drafting of the new laws and policies. NewCo’s widely experienced consultants may offer technical advice to avoid the unintended consequences that often accompany well intended government policy initiatives.
