Zambian Development Agency director-general Andrew Chipwende says the best time to invest in Zambia is now and warns that there might not be space for latecomers.
Speaking at the inaugural Zambian International Mining and Energy Conference, last week, he said that, with First Quantum committing over $1-billion to the development of its Trident project and the possible buyout of Metorex by Brazilian major Vale, international mining majors were realising the potential of the country.

He reported that this could be attributed to the transparency of the country’s mining legislation, which is conducive to exploration and mining investment.

According to the 2010/11 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies, Zambia ranks 57 out of 79 jurisdictions on the Policy Potential Index, which serves as a scorecard for how an exploration manager views a jurisdiction and the ease with which business is conducted.

This is ten ranking points above South Africa, and the results of the Zambian government’s hard work in building up the industry to this state are evident.

Australian mining major BHP Billiton is on what it labels ‘a mission’ to find giant projects worth billions of dollars and which will have a life-of-mine of between 20 and 30 years.

BHP Billiton minerals exploration president Ian Maxwell reports that this is becoming an important focus of the company.

“What BHP is looking for is large, long-life, low-cost expandable assets which exist in transparent markets to continue the growth of its resource base,” says Maxwell.

And, in Zambia, the company seems to have found the near-perfect investment destination.

The company has already been involved in the development of the Mumbwa coal project through a joint venture with fellow Australian junior Blackthorn Resources. Subsequently, BHP withdrew from the project because it felt it did not fit its profile. However, it has retained a 2% royalty share in the project, which Blackthorn reports is near to construction.

Maxwell reports that BHP is in the exploration stages on a number of other projects in Zambia that fit its profile.

“Future expansion programmes for BHP will be greenfield geared and copper specific with the inten- tion of capitalising on the current shifting of the world’s macro- economic and geopolitical focus towards Asia,” says Maxwell.