ZAMBIA ASM Profile Political Economy & Strategic Standpoints | Social and Environmental Factors | Local linkages | ASM Sites in Zambia
Zambia is well endowed in mineral resources which include: Cooper, Cobalt, Gemstones, Coal, Nickel, Manganese, Industrial minerals (dimension stones, limestone, aggregates, dolomites, sand (and silica sand), Tin and Gold. The mining is done by at least 12 large scale mines (medium scale), more than 400 small scale miners and non-specified number of illegal miners and artisanal miners who are estimated to be over 500 thousand.
Country Mining Vision Status
Policies, Laws and Regulations Currently in Effect
Minerals Resources Development Policy Of Zambia, 2013
Zambia Mines and Minerals Development Act, 2008
ASM Associations or Cooperatives
I. AZWIM: Association for Zambian Women in Mining
II. FSSMAZ: Federation of Small-Scale Mining Association of Zambia
ASM Definition Criterion
Nationality; concession size; technical and financial capacity
ASM Licensing
Artisanal: YES
Small Scale Mining: YES
ASM Minerals or Metals Exploited
Precious Metals Gold
Base Metals Cooper, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese, Tin
Precious Stones Gemstones
Development Minerals Dimension stones, limestone, aggregates, dolomites, sand/silica
Mining Code Provisions for Women in ASM
Mineral Resources Development Policy of Zambia; 2013 Chapter 7.14 Gender
Government will mainstream gender in the mining sector by:
i. Supporting gender equality in the mining sector through mining legislation;
ii. Promoting the participation of women in mineral sciences educational programmes; and
iii. Providing support to ensure equal opportunities for both men and women participation in mining.
Zambia Mines and Minerals Development Act; 2008 Section 150/Mining Advisory Committee
(3) The Minister shall in appointing the members of the Committee ensure that
(a) Thirty percent of the members are women; and
(b) where the Chairperson is a man, the Vice-Chairperson shall be a woman.
ASM SUPPORT TRIANGLE
Finance and credit
Financial assistance to ASM in Zambia is not a new phenomenon considering that at one stage government had created a revolving fund for the mining sector, but the scheme has since stopped. It can be revived to give assistance in equipment hire and provision of business management training aligned to ASM mining activity; business linkages payments between business support providers, technology supply agencies and ASM miners/cooperatives/associations.
Extension services - a phased approach to integration and capacity-building
Zambia does have provision of technical extension services (at both the regional and central level) on mining methods, geological assessment and support on how to comply with the law. The technical extension services also inspect ASM sites, guide miners on how to comply with law and assist the ASM miners with conflict resolution.
Marketing and quality
Base metal ASM producers sell their raw production to large scale miners (LSM), especially to the Chinese Companies due to lack of processing facilities.
