BHP eyes large-scale copper exploration in Zambia, signalling renewed global interest in the country’s untapped mineral resources
- +BHP Targets Major Copper Exploration Push In Zambia, Ministry Says
Zambia’s mines ministry says BHP is planning a significant expansion into large-scale copper exploration in the country, underscoring renewed global interest in the southern African nation’s mineral potential as demand for the metal rises.
Zambia’s mines ministry says BHP is planning a significant expansion into large-scale copper exploration in the country, underscoring renewed global interest in the southern African nation’s mineral potential as demand for the metal rises.
Officials in Zambia Africa’s second largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo are working to more than triple output by 2031, while intensifying efforts to draw investment into largely untapped deposits.
BHP has had limited involvement in Africa since spinning off South32 in 2015. Aside from a brief stake in Tanzania’s Kabanga Nickel project, which it exited last year, the miner has largely stayed away from the continent. Its 2024 takeover attempt of Anglo American also collapsed, partly due to reluctance to assume its South African assets.
The company is now re engaging with the region. On April 15, BHP announced a series of exploration workshops across southern Africa, including Zambia, South Africa, Namibia and Angola, scheduled through early May.
In a statement shared on social media, Zambia’s mines ministry said BHP is increasingly focusing on large copper deposits that are harder to identify using conventional exploration techniques. The ministry cited remarks from Campbell McCuaig the firm’s head of global generative exploration, during meetings in Lusaka.
McCuaig noted that many of the remaining major deposits are either deeply buried or concealed beneath geological layers, requiring advanced exploration tools. He said BHP is deploying sophisticated geological modelling and large-scale data analysis to identify “mineral systems” responsible for forming major copper reserves.
He also welcomed Zambia’s push to improve access to geoscience data, including government-backed airborne surveys and the digitisation of geological records, saying such efforts would help attract more international investors.
The ministry added that Zambia remains one of the world’s most promising regions for copper exploration, with ongoing reforms aimed at converting that potential into increased production and broader economic growth.
