en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Zambian government has announced an extension of the suspension of the 10% export duty on copper concentrate until September 30, a move aimed at helping clear inventories of unprocessed materials as the country's major smelters undergo prolonged maintenance and repairs.

As Africa's second-largest copper producer, Zambia's copper mine operators are implementing lengthy smelter maintenance plans after technical issues impacted processing output. Copper is widely used in electrical infrastructure construction.

Zambia primarily exports refined cathode copper rather than copper concentrate. The country exported a total of 890,346 metric tons of copper in 2025 and plans to increase national copper production to 3 million tons by 2031.

According to a government notice seen by Reuters, the tariff suspension was initially implemented in August 2025, covering a total volume of 271,742 tons of copper concentrate.

Mopani Copper Mines, jointly held by Abu Dhabi's International Resources Holding and Zambia's state-owned mining company ZCCM-IH, received the largest duty-free export quota of 100,000 tons of copper concentrate.

Lumwana Mining Company, a subsidiary of Barrick Mining Corp, received a quota of 56,986 metric tons, followed by First Quantum Minerals and the Chinese-owned Nkana Mining and Minerals Processing, each with quotas of approximately 43,000 tons.

According to the government notice, Lubambe Copper Mine, 70% owned by China's JCHX Mining, received a duty-free export quota of 15,000 tons, while Vedanta's Konkola Copper Mines received a quota of 12,541 tons.

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