Beyond the mining licence: turning Zambia’s mineral wealth into lasting growth in the critical minerals era

Investors need to know what happens when a mining decision goes against them, says Muleba Joseph Chitupila, a founding partner of Lusaka-based law firm Gill & Seph Advocates. He and his colleagues advise mining companies and the businesses that serve them, so they see how questions about licensing, finance, workers, and suppliers can affect the same project. 

Zambia’s new regulatory institutions may offer greater clarity, but their value will be measured, says Chitupila, in terms of what businesses can do with it. 

“If I’m an investor looking into Zambia, I want to have a bit of certainty in terms of: ‘will my disputes be resolved in good time?’ The more investors are comfortable, the more they will invest into this particular sector.”

It’s a timely question as Zambia assertively pursues its goal of producing three million tonnes of copper, annually, by 2031. Global demand for copper and other critical minerals is encouraging exploration and investment across the region, while Zambia has overhauled its mining framework to support such growth.

Chitupila welcomes the creation under the new framework of the Minerals Regulation Commission, which brings key regulatory functions under one body. Where businesses previously had to navigate responsibilities spread across different offices, they now have a clearer place to take mining licensing matters.

“At least now you know that when I have an issue with a licence, I have to go to the Minerals Regulation Commission,” he says. “That gives you a bit of certainty.”

As reported by Africa Legal, Zambia’s long-awaited Mining Appeals Tribunal held its first sittings this month, and Chitupila believes its specialist membership and the prospect of timely decisions could give investors further comfort. The test now is how it handles cases that might otherwise leave projects stalled.

For Gill & Seph Advocates, which is supporting next week’s inaugural Zambia edition of the GC Forum Extractives, in Livingstone on 29 September, helping clients move ahead involves more than navigating the regulatory framework. The Zambian firm works on financing and security arrangements for mining projects, and advises on corporate transactions, employment, and commercial disputes. 

Chitupila says the firm’s clients include both mining companies and the local businesses supplying them. The firm’s broader commercial practice lets its lawyers follow issues as they move between a project’s different relationships.

Financing is one example. 

An incoming company may need to agree how funding will be structured and secured, then obtain permits for expatriate staff and put employment contracts in place for its Zambian workforce. A dispute with a supplier or contractor may call for arbitration, construction adjudication or court proceedings, depending on the agreement. Gill & Seph also draws on its international legal networks for perspectives from other markets while advising on Zambian requirements.

That work gives Chitupila a view of what investment could mean beyond the mine gate. New and expanding projects create demand for workers and suppliers. “You’re going to need more local suppliers of goods and services,” he says. If businesses can meet that demand, greater investment could become “a fruitful cycle” of further projects and opportunities for a wide range of Zambians.

Chitupila will himself attend the inaugural GC Forum Extractives: Zambia Edition.

Being held in Livingstone next Tuesday, 29 September, under the theme “Structuring Growth in a New Extractives Era”, this special event will bring together leaders from mining, government, finance, investment and law.

Chitupila sees plenty of value in such gatherings. 

“You’re sitting in one room with decision makers,” he says. Companies and financiers can explain the bottlenecks they face and suggest ways forward, while government can respond. He and his firm hope to hear directly from others across the sector about what they need as Zambia’s reforms take effect. 

For Chitupila, such exchanges are another chance to help turn mineral interest in Zambia into working projects. and create broader local opportunities.

For more information on the inaugural Zambia edition of the GC Forum Extractives, visit here. Attendance is complimentary for senior professionals across the mining and energy sectors, including General Counsel and in-house legal teams, leadership and compliance professionals, government and policy representatives, investors and financiers, as well as NGOs and academia. To register your interest, please click here.