Zambia's Mining License Boom: 10 Mines Carry 80% of Tax

Zambia's Minerals Regulation Commission processed 823 mining-right applications in two weeks, the Commission announced. The move cleared a portion of a 1,672-application backlog. The Commission said the pace is necessary for investors, artisanal miners and cooperatives. Women's participation in artisanal mining was noted.

The real test is what those licences return to the country. The Zambia Revenue Authority disclosed that about 10 mines accounted for 80 percent of mining-sector revenue last year. The database lists more than 2,000 licence holders.

Under the Minerals Regulation Commission Act, the MRC regulates production, mineral marketing, trading and exports. It is also required to collaborate with ZRA to prevent tax evasion. The News Diggers! editorial board argued that the MRC must not confuse licence-office activity with sector progress.

For each licence approved, the public can ask: has the holder started exploration or mining? How much has been invested? How many jobs were created? What taxes and royalties are being paid? The MRC has not published answers to these questions, the editorial said.

Not every licence holder is a producing mine. Some hold exploration rights, others develop projects. Artisanal operators cannot be compared with giant copper producers. Still, the concentration of revenue among 10 mines suggests that thousands of rights on paper yield very few operators making a meaningful fiscal contribution.

The MRC's own Act requires it to collaborate with ZRA in preventing tax evasion. It also regulates production, mineral marketing, trading and exports – the information needed to establish whether the Treasury receives what it is owed. The editorial called for an annual licence-performance report linking each mining-right category to operational status, declared production, exports, jobs, royalties and tax compliance.

The Fiscal Gap: 10 Mines, 80% of Revenue

The ZRA disclosure highlights the gap between licence volume and fiscal return. Of the more than 2,000 licence holders, the number that are producing, exporting, filing mineral royalty returns and holding valid tax-clearance certificates remains unclear. The MRC has not said how many licences are dormant or have breached approved work programmes. Suspensions or revocations for non-performance have not been detailed.

The Commission cannot simply say taxation belongs to ZRA, the editorial argued. Its Act expressly requires collaboration in preventing tax evasion. The MRC regulates the very information necessary to establish whether the Treasury is receiving what it is owed.

Local Procurement Rules Lack Enforcement Data

Statutory Instrument No. 68 of 2025 requires mining and mining-related companies to reserve an initial 20 percent of annual core procurement budgets for qualifying local companies. Technically compliant local bids receive a 15 percent price preference. The law was celebrated as a turning point for Zambian suppliers.

Legislation is not empowerment until contracts change hands, businesses grow, jobs are created and money circulates within Zambia. The MRC, together with relevant ministries and agencies, could publish a report showing each mine's annual core procurement budget, the amount reserved for local suppliers, contracts awarded, goods and services procured, and the names and ownership structures of beneficiaries. Which mines have complied, which have failed, and what enforcement action has followed remain unaddressed.

Suppliers have also raised concerns that some companies presented as local are fronts for foreign interests. The Commission could verify beneficial ownership with PACRA, tax records with ZRA and citizen-ownership status with the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission. A company should not qualify as local merely because it has a Zambian address, registration certificate or convenient minority shareholder, the editorial said.

The Commission has not responded to these calls for transparency. "The Commission must not confuse movement in the licensing office with progress in the mining sector," the News Diggers! editorial board wrote.