Editing Zambia (section)

===Mining===
[[File:ZM-Nkana-headgear-Kitwe.jpg|thumb|upright |The major Nkana open copper mine, [[Kitwe]].]]
{{Main|Mining in Zambia|List of mines in Zambia}}

Mining and [[quarrying]] accounted for approximately 13.2% of the Zambian GDP in 2019.<ref name=2019USGSMineralsYB>[https://pubs.usgs.gov/myb/vol3/2019/myb3-2019-zambia.pdf Zambia (Advance Release)], ''2019 Minerals Yearbook'', [[U.S. Geological Survey]].</ref> The Zambian economy has historically been based on the [[copper mining]] industry.<ref name="twsqt">{{cite journal | last=Sikamo | first=J. | title=Copper mining in Zambia - history and future | journal=Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy | publisher=Academy of Science of South Africa | volume=116 | issue=6 | year=2016 | issn=2411-9717 | doi=10.17159/2411-9717/2016/v116n6a1 | pages=491–496| doi-access=free | bibcode=2016JSAIM.116....1S }}</ref> The industry was nationalized in 1973; under government control, production declined substantially.<ref name=2016JSAIMM>J. Sikamo, A. Mwanza; C. Mweemba, [https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2225-62532016000600003 Copper mining in Zambia - history and future], ''Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy'' (2016).</ref> After privatisation during the period 1996&ndash;2000, investment, production, and jobs in the copper sector increased.<ref name=2016JSAIMM/>

As of 2019, copper exports constitute about 69% of the value of all Zambian goods exported.<ref name=2019USGSMineralsYB/> In 2023, Zambia produced 698,000 [[metric ton]]s of copper.<ref name=TradingUnit>[https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/zambia-set-up-mineral-investment-trading-unit-2024-06-12/ Zambia to set up mineral investment and trading unit], Reuters (June 13, 2024).</ref> It is the second-largest copper producer in Africa<ref name=TradingUnit/> and the seventh-largest copper producer in the world, accounting for 4% of global production.<ref name=2019USGSMineralsYB/> The [[Copperbelt Province]] of Zambia accounts for almost one-quarter of the country's GDP and one-third of the country's copper production.<ref>[https://www.theigc.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/23124%20Copperbelt%20Framing%20Paper_v5-WEB.pdf Unlocking economic prosperity in the Zambian Copperbelt], [[International Growth Centre]] (February 2024).</ref> The state-owned [[ZCCM Investments Holdings]] owns several mining operations; it holds a 49% stake in [[Mopani Copper Mines]], with the remaining 51% held by the [[United Arab Emirates]] through the [[International Holding Company]].<ref name=TradingUnit/> ZCCM has interests in mining operations owned by [[Vedanta Resources]] and [[First Quantum Minerals]].<ref name=TradingUnit/>  As Zambia's economy is heavily dependent on the copper industry, the national exchange rate changes in accordance with the copper price.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chombo |first1=Beaulah N. |title=Why Zambia needs the AfCFTA |url=https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/comparatively-small-economies-need-open-trade-drive-growth |website=D+C Development and Cooperation |date=24 November 2023 |access-date=28 March 2024 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328103353/https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/comparatively-small-economies-need-open-trade-drive-growth |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Chinese government, via state-owned firms and as part of its [[Belt and Road Initiative]], has made substantial [[foreign direct investment]]s in Zambian copper to secure this strategic resource for the Chinese market.<ref>Richard Olsson, [https://fhs.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1793363/FULLTEXT01.pdf China's Green Transition: Analysing Chinese Minerals Policy, and its Impact on Zambia], [[Försvarshögskolan]].</ref> The Chinese firm JCHX Mining owns 80% of Zambia's Lubambe Copper Mines, with ZCCM holding the remaining 20%.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/zambia-says-chinas-jchx-will-invest-300-mln-lubambe-copper-mine-2024-07-11/ Zambia says China's JCHX will invest $300 mln in Lubambe copper mine], Reuters (July 11, 2024).</ref> Hazardous working conditions, low wages, and labor abuses at the Chinese-operated [[Collum Coal Mine]] have been a source of political controversy in Zambia.<ref>[https://pulitzercenter.org/projects/chinas-bloody-frontier-zambia China's Bloody Frontier in Zambia], [[Pulitzer Center]] (May 15, 2013).</ref><ref>David Smith, [https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/nov/03/chinese-mining-zambia-mistreating-workers Chinese mining firms in Zambia under fire for mistreating workers], ''The Guardian'' (November 3, 2011).</ref>

In addition to copper, major minerals mined in Zambia include [[Gold mining|gold]] ([[Kansanshi mine]]), [[manganese]] (Serenje mine), and [[Nickel mining|nickel]] (Munali mine), as well as [[gemstone]]s (specifically [[amethyst]], [[beryl]], [[emerald]], and [[tourmaline]]).<ref name=2019USGSMineralsYB/>