Introduction

The Zambian Government through its Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development (MMMD) is currently undertaking consultations with various stakeholders on the development of a “Critical Minerals Strategy”. The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) considers this initiative timely and important if the country is to benefit from the growing demand of these minerals used in the energy transition technologies. The narrative presented here although not exhaustive, does attempt to highlight major issues to be considered in the strategy by CTPD.

Clean Energy minerals (CEM) are used in climate resilient technologies (CRT). These include copper, cobalt, lithium, manganese and rare earths. The CEM list is not exhaustive and may change with ongoing evolution of technologies. Uses of CEM vary with technology with lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite being important in battery performance, longevity and energy density while rare earths are crucial for permanent magnets that are vital for wind turbines and electric vehicles (EV). Copper and aluminium are extensively used in power transmission networks.

A growing demand of CEM is due to mitigation efforts from rising global temperatures with its devastating impact on climate change. For instance, the main goal of the International Conference on climate (COP 26), was for the world to secure a global net zero by mid-century and keep a maximum warming of 1.5 0C within reach. However, the move to CRT such as EVs, wind mills, solar panels and others, comes with increased demand for CEM.

Depending on the social and economic situation, CEM have been classified as either “strategic Minerals” or “Critical Minerals”. Critical minerals are important for the overall performance of the economy. By this reasoning, emerald could be considered a “critical mineral” in Zambia due to its high economic potential in the country. Strategic minerals are essential for defence purposes. Fortunately, Zambia, is a major repository of some of these critical/strategic minerals which with appropriate strategies, can be a springboard for sustainable development.

Strategies at International Level

At international level, countries are positioning themselves to secure the availability of critical minerals both locally or elsewhere. The IEA’s landmark report, “The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions” analyses over 200 of such policies and recommends a tool to help governments explore existing and new critical mineral policies in the three key policy areas of (www.iea.org):
• Ensuring supply reliability and resiliency.
• Promoting exploration, production and innovation.
• Encouraging sustainable and responsible practices.

UNEP in 2023 at the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, launched an effort with a view of building trust, reliability, sustainability and benefit sharing in the supply chains of CEMs (unep.org).

Resource Base of CEMs in Zambia

Zambia has a rich endowment of critical minerals such as copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. It has some of the world’s major deposits of cobalt and copper. Currently, Zambia accounts for 0.30 percent of world’s cobalt production with Congo DR being major producer at 60 percent. According to Global Data, Zambia is world’s eighth largest copper producer with an annual production of about 750,000 tonnes (globaldata.com). Recent report on AI exploration efforts have revealed the world’s richest copper deposit in Zambia by KoBold Metals (Africa Report, 2024).

The National Mineral Resources Development Policy (2022-2027) outlines government’s proposed plan to ramp up copper production to 3 million tonnes annually within the next 9 years. Other significant resources currently being exploited include cobalt (usually as a by-product from copper mining), manganese and nickel. Large deposits of lithium have been discovered in Southern Province but remain unexploited. Since 55 percent of Zambia is still unexplored, more mineral resources may be discovered once planned aerial geophysical exploration, is conducted.

Rising demand of Energy Transition Minerals

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) report, demand between 2017 and 2022 for lithium tripled, cobalt rose by 70 percent and 40 percent for nickel. The report further suggests that if the world is to embrace renewable energy and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, the use of CEMs will need to increase six-fold by 2040 (www.iea.org). This global demand of CEMs will undoubtedly put pressure on resources found in Zambia and hence the need to put in place a strategy for their contribution to responsible and sustainable economic development.
In our next week’s discussion, we will present some of the major challenges and suggestions for the proposed strategy on critical minerals.

About the Author

Dr. Stephen Kambani is a Research Associate at CTPD, with a PhD in Mineral Economics from Montana University (Austria); a Master of Engineering in Mineral Economics from McGill University, Canada and a Bachelor of Mineral Sciences from the University of Zambia.