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The Zambian government has temporarily suspended the 10 percent export tax on copper concentrates for three months, in a move aimed at easing a growing stockpile of unprocessed material at mine sites due to technical disruptions at local smelters.
Finance and National Planning Minister, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, made the announcement during a press briefing in Lusaka on Tuesday, saying the suspension followed industry appeals after smelter operations were hit by unexpected technical setbacks.
“There’s no question about the economic justification for taxing concentrate—it’s about creating jobs. But when local smelters face technical difficulties, it becomes impossible to process the copper,” Musokotwane said.
He explained that the disruptions had led to mounting inventories of copper concentrate across mine sites, as mining companies refrained from exporting under the tax burden, which would otherwise result in financial losses.
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“With smelters down, concentrate has been piling up. Copper exports declined, foreign exchange inflows dropped, and mineral royalty revenues also took a hit,” he noted.
Musokotwane further revealed that only about K100 million had been collected from copper concentrate exports in 2024, arguing that the forgone tax revenue was relatively small compared to the wider economic impact of halted exports.
Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Commissioner General, Dingani Banda, confirmed that K86.6 million had been collected from the tax as of end-June 2025.
Zambia Chamber of Mines (ZCM) Chief Executive Officer, Sokwani Chilembo, said the current smelter challenges were not routine maintenance issues, but the result of simultaneous reconstruction and expansion works.
“These aren’t just maintenance issues like in 2020. This time, we’re re-establishing and growing operations simultaneously,” he explained.
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