(Ecofin Agency) - Zambia’s chamber of mines announced on November 24, 2016, that the country’s copper output should increase by 4% to 740,000 tons this year.

While government forecast an output of 700,000 t for 2016 and 1 million tons for 2017, CEO of Chamber of Mines, Talent Ng’andwe said these forecasts had been scaled up due to operations at a new mine owned by Canadian firm First Quantum Minerals.

Ng’andwe indicated that the country could have produced way more than the 740,000 tons expected if not for the power deficit which forced some mines to bring down their production.

Moreover, the president of the Chamber of Mines, Nathan Chishimba said Zambia should change its fiscal regime to attract more investors into the sector. He added that despite the recent amendments to the tax on mining royalties, the country’s overall effective mining tax rate remains one of the highest in the world.

Zambia which counts among mining firms operating across its territory companies like Glencore, First Quantum Minerals, Vedanta Resources and Barrick Gold, is Africa’s second largest copper producer.

Louis-Nino Kansoun