The Central African Copperbelt, spanning northern Zambia and southern Democratic Republic of Congo, is one of the world’s most prolific copper provinces. Since the early 20th century the Zambian Copperbelt alone has produced over 25 million tonnes of copper, and the region continues to attract major global investment as demand for copper rises with the global energy transition.

The Zambian Copperbelt (Kafue Anticline)

The classical Zambian Copperbelt, located along the Kafue Anticline, hosts world-class stratiform copper deposits within the Roan Group sediments. Major historic and current operations include Nkana, Nchanga, Konkola, Mopani and Chambishi, which have historically produced some of the highest-grade copper ores globally, often exceeding 2–4% Cu.


Several of these operations are currently undergoing major revitalisation and reopening, including Konkola and Mopani, as Zambia targets 3 million tonnes of annual copper production by 2031.

The Domes Region - To the west of the Kafue Anticline lies the Domes Region, which hosts large, lower grade but bulk minable open pit sedimentary and basement-hosted copper systems where some of Zambia’s largest modern mining operations.

Kansanshi Mine – reserves of approximately 727 Mt @ 0.86% Cu, producing around 170 kt Cu per year, with a US$1.25 billion expansion underway that is expected to significantly increase production.

Lumwana Mine – currently undergoing a major expansion that will increase processing capacity to ~52 Mt per year, positioning it as a future Tier-1 copper operation.

Exploration Momentum
Exploration across the Copperbelt continues to deliver significant discoveries, including KoBold Metals’ Mingomba resource definition program, which is emerging as one of the largest new high-grade copper systems in the region.

South of the Domes lies the Central Basin, a relatively underexplored region with significant historical production and exploration hampered by recent Kalahari sand cover. 

The historic Kalengwa mine, once one of Zambia’s highest-grade copper producers, reported direct shipping ore grades exceeding 20% Cu, highlighting the exceptional potential of this domain.

The Hook Granite IOCG Belt

Internal to the Central basin is the Hook Granite intrusive province, which hosts large iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) systems.
The most advanced discovery is the Kitumba deposit, located near Mumbwa, which hosts a resource of approximately 27 Mt at ~2.2% Cu. Development studies are underway with the project progressing toward potential mine development, highlighting the emerging potential of this IOCG belt.

Despite the presence of Kitumba and several copper occurrences, the Hook Granite region remains significantly underexplored, suggesting strong potential for the discovery of additional large Tier-1 IOCG copper systems.