Ivanhoe Mines signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Zambia’s Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development allowing Ivanhoe to begin exploration activities in the country. The signing ceremony was attended by the Minister of the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, Hon. Paul Kabuswe MP, and Permanent Secretary Dr. Hapenga Kabeta, as well as members of Ivanhoe Mines’ senior management team.
The MOU outlines how Ivanhoe Mines intends to co-develop prospective projects together in partnership with the Ministry of Mines, to ensure the long-term sustainable development of Zambia’s mineral resources, while providing a sustainable contribution to the Zambian economy and its communities. In parallel with the signing of the MOU, Ivanhoe Mines has applied for a significant exploration license package in Zambia, with adjudication and award targeted by year-end.
The MOU includes commitments by the Ministry of Mines to share information, identify prospective land packages, provide access to existing and new geological data collected by the Zambian Government (including the recently announced 750,000-km2 country-wide airborne geophysical survey), provide guidance and support in relation to the application of new licenses, as well as provide a stable and predictable fiscal and regulatory environment.
“The MOU is more than just an agreement on paper; it is a promise and commitment to work together in good faith, to build on shared interests, and to strive for excellence in all our endeavors,” Kabuswe said. “The Zambian Government, through the Ministry of Mines, remains committed to supporting investors by providing the necessary regulatory frameworks and infrastructure that will enable such investments to flourish.”
Following successful exploration or mining license applications, Ivanhoe Mines intends to invest in exploration and project development activities following the same model of success that led to the discovery and development of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
During August, the President of the Republic of Zambia, H.E. Hakainde Hichilema, announced the start of a nationwide high-resolution aerial geophysical survey to map the country’s mineral and water resources. The program is part of the nation’s target of quadrupling annualized copper production to achieve 3 million metric tons (mt) by 2031. This achievement would rank Zambia as the second-largest copper producer globally, compared with 10th as projected for 2024.
“Ivanhoe Mines is just getting started in expanding our global exploration footprint to discover more of the vital green metals that the world so desperately needs for advanced industrialization and electrification,” Ivanhoe Mines Founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland said. “Over the past 20 years, our geologists have discovered over 50 million mt of copper under the western edge of the Central African Copperbelt in the DRC… an area we now call the Western Foreland shelf. Leveraging our decades of experience, and by thinking outside the box, we turned what was previously believed to be an unmineralized region, into one of the world’s newest and most prolific copper production districts. We are now entering Zambia, as well as Angola, where we have high conviction that new discoveries are waiting to be uncovered.”
