HH Takes Mopani's Copper Targets to Abu Dhabi and Tells Owners to Deliver Local Content

Lusaka, September 29, 2026. President Hakainde Hichilema has asked the owners of Mopani Copper Mines to give full effect to Zambia's local content law and to produce more copper from their mining licence areas. He made the request in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he met International Resources Holding (IRH) Chief Executive Officer Ali Rashed Alrashdi on the sidelines of a working visit. The Times of Zambia reported the meeting on Tuesday, citing the President's own Facebook post. According to that post, the aim is for more Zambians to take part in the mining sector and benefit from it. The President also said natural resources, copper in particular, must deliver real benefits to the people as the Grow Zambia Agenda is implemented. The meeting connects directly to the country's headline mining goal. Zambia wants to reach three million tonnes of annual copper production by 2031. Mopani is central to that plan because IRH owns it together with ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH). A separate reading of the ownership comes from Lengwe Cornelius Bwalya, Executive Director of the Rhoma Foreign Relations Institute. He said IRH, through its subsidiary Delta Mining Limited, holds a 51 percent stake in Mopani Copper Mines. He described the visit as strategic and said it reaffirms the UAE's commitment to that investment. Bwalya also said this is the President's first international trip since his renewed mandate last month. He framed it as part of Zambia's economic diplomacy, aimed at strengthening trade and investment ties with the UAE and other partners. Several questions remain open. The reports do not say how much copper Mopani currently produces or what output the President expects from the mining tenements. They also do not say which local content provisions Mopani is expected to comply with, or how compliance will be measured. Without those numbers, the call to implement the law is a statement of intent rather than a checkable commitment.