Paul Kabuswe, Zambia’s mining minister, speaks on day two of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. Mining executives, investors and government ministers are meeting in Cape Town for the African Mining Indaba, the continents biggest gathering of one of its most vital industries. Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images

LUSAKA, June 22 (Reuters) – Zambia needs to hold a bigger stake in new mines and local communities should benefit more from the mineral values chain, mines minister Paul Kabuswe said on Wednesday.

“This government is saying Zambians must be an integral part of whatever investment. We can no longer sit in the terraces and watch,” Kabuswe said at a conference.

The minister said later in response to questions that the government was planning to increase the state’s shareholding in new mines to ensure that Zambia maximises its benefits from the sector.

“Going forward, I don’t think there will be a mine where Zambia will own less than 20% (of shares). Those days of 10% shareholdings are gone,” Kabuswe said.

Kabuswe said the government needed to have a golden share in new mines, which would give it controlling voting rights.

Zambia’s mining investment arm ZCCM-IH holds less than 50% shares in key mining operations and a 20% stake in Kansanshi mine which is majority owned by Canada’s First Quantum Minerals FM.TO.

(Reporting by Chris Mfula; editing by Alexander Winning and Jason Neely)

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