Coppermine Zambia
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LION in the Copperbelt
The Copperbelt is the largest copper and cobalt mining area in Africa. The metals copper and cobalt make an important contribution to the economy in both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. The size of the mining sector offers great potential for the local economy to participate economically in the mining process. In addition, current trends in the course of the energy transition, especially the increased use of batteries for electric vehicles, as well as the global use of smartphones and other types of computers will further increase the demand for the metals copper and cobalt.
The involvement of local industry in the mining sector can not only increase local value creation, but can also help to diversify the economy to be less dependent on fluctuating prices and demand. To demonstrate the potential for local procurement, the sector programme uses the LION tool to estimate the size of the mining sector's key procurement markets. These results can then be incorporated into local content regulations and can make it easier for local, but also international, suppliers to decide whether to venture into the mining sector. The total cash operating costs of the mining sector in the Copperbelt captured by LION amount to approximately USD 5.6 billion in 2021, of which procurement expenditures accounted for approximately USD 3.7 billion.
LION divides the total cash operating costs into several different procurement categories. The five most important procurement categories in the mining sector in the Copperbelt are:
(1) Electricity
- DRC: USD 597 million
- Zambia: USD 411 million
(2) Spare parts and operational expenditures (OPEX) equipment
- DRC: USD 265 million
- Zambia: USD 207 million
(3) Fuel and lubricants
- DRC: USD 231 million
- Zambia: USD 208 million
(4) Sulphur and sulphuric acid
- DRC: USD 194 million
- Zambia: USD 144 million
(5) Equipment and plant maintenance
- DRC: USD 162 million
- Zambia: USD 120 million