On January 17, a high-level delegation of 10 officials from key Zambian government institutions—including the Zambia National Assembly, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance, and Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) — visited Shanghai Metals Market (SMM). The delegation was warmly received by SMM’s executive leadership, including CEO Logan Lu and Overseas Marketing Director Lloyd Guan. Both parties engaged in constructive dialogue regarding investment promotion in the energy and mineral sectors, as well as resource cooperation on international platform.
This visit marks a significant milestone for deepening industry exchanges between Zambia and SMM, highlighting Zambia’s commitment to leveraging international professional platform to boost local industrial development while injecting new momentum into global cooperation within the energy and minerals fields.
Members of the Zambian Delegation
Zambia, a core resource-rich country in south-central Africa, is renowned as the "Copper Country." As a central part of the Central African copper belt, it boasts abundant resources with strategic value and cooperation potential.
- Its copper reserves rank among the highest globally, and its 2024 production placed it second in Africa. The country has set a target to achieve an annual copper production of 3 million mt by the 2030s.
- Its copper-cobalt deposits are concentrated with grades exceeding the global average, and its cobalt reserves rank fourth worldwide, making it a crucial supplier of core raw materials for the new energy industry chain.
- The exploration potential for strategic minor metals such as lithium, graphite, and rare earths is also immense.
Its energy infrastructure is uniquely advantaged, primarily relying on hydropower, with installed capacity exceeding 3.8 GW, constituting 85% of its power mix. While solar energy holds vast technical development potential, its utilization rate remains below 1%. The "hydropower + PV" clean energy combination can provide low-cost, low-carbon, and stable support for the high energy demands of the mining industry. Simultaneously, Zambia maintains an open policy to foreign investment, allowing 100% foreign ownership in the mining sector. As a member of the Southern African Customs Union, its products can access inland and southern African markets. Its stable resource supply and continuously improving investment environment are attracting global attention. The energy and mineral industry serves as a core pillar of the country's economic development. In recent years, the government has successively introduced policies to enhance industrial support and lower investment barriers, aiming to leverage international cooperation as a link to activate the potential of local resources.
This visit aims to leverage SMM's global industry influence and its entire industry chain platform resources to build an efficient international bridge for investment promotion for local high-quality energy and mineral projects.
As a leader of ecological service in global non-ferrous metals industry, SMM has established a comprehensive communication and cooperation system covering the entire non-ferrous metals industry chain. The conference events organized by SMM, such as the 2026 (21st) SMM Copper Industry Conference and Expo and the AFRICA CRITICAL MINERALS FORUM 2026, have become vital hubs for global information sharing and networking in the mineral industry.
In 2026, SMM will further intensify its strategic layout in the African market. It is currently steadily advancing the SMM AFRICA CRITICAL MINERALS SEMINAR 2026 to be held in South Africa in February 2026, and the preparatory work for the AFRICA CRITICAL MINERALS FORUM 2026 — which is scheduled to be held in Lusaka, Zambia, on October 13-14, 2026. The conference is expected to establish a more precise international cooperation and matching platform for Africa's energy and mineral industry.
During the visit, SMM provided the Zambian delegation with a detailed introduction to the latest trends in the global mineral market, the core resource advantages of its platform, and the overall planning for its series of brand events in Africa. This offered diversified cooperation ideas and practical references for Zambia's investment promotion efforts in the energy and mineral sectors.
In addition, this visit has established an efficient bridge for government-enterprise communication. The Zambian delegation spoke highly of and fully recognized the global influence of SMM platform and the capacity to integrate industry resources. Both parties reached preliminary consensus on deepening industry exchanges and exploring practical cooperation paths. They will use SMM's Africa series events and related industry brand conferences as important platforms to further precisely align cooperation needs and discuss the feasibility of signing a memorandum of understanding.
In the future, the two sides are expected to establish a regular communication and alignment mechanism to promote the deep integration and precise alignment of Zambia's energy and mineral resource advantages with SMM's global platform resources, thereby contributing positively to deepening China-Zambia economic and trade cooperation and supporting the high-quality development of Africa's energy and mineral industry.
Zambia's Investment Prospects
The AFRICA CRITICAL MINERALS FORUM 2026, organized by SMM, will take place from October 13-14, 2026. This conference will bring together industry leaders, investors, policymakers, and technology providers from across the globe to explore the future of copper, cobalt and Tin—key drivers of the global energy transition. We look forward to your joining us at the AFRICA CRITICAL MINERALS FORUM 2026!
