Surging demand from the artificial intelligence, green energy and
defence sectors has exponentially boosted demand for the workhorse metal
that underpins power grids, data centres and electric vehicles.
The
scramble for copper exposes geopolitical rivalries as industrial
heavyweights -- including China, the United States, Canada, Europe,
India and Gulf states -- compete to secure supplies.
"We have the
investors back," President Hakainde Hichilema told delegates at the
African Mining Indaba conference on Monday, saying that more than $12
billion had flowed into the sector since 2022.
The politically
stable country is Africa's second-largest copper producer, after the
conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo, and the world's eighth,
according to the US Geological Survey.
The metal, needed for solar
panels and wind turbines, generates about 15 percent of Zambia's GDP
and more than 70 percent of export earnings.
Complete News on https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260215-world-copper-rush-promises-new-riches-for-zambia
