President Hakainde Hichilema has appointed Brenda Tambatamba as Zambia's Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, placing a former mine sustainability manager in charge of the portfolio that carries the country's goal of tripling copper output.
Tambatamba was sworn in at State House in Lusaka on 28 October with 23 other Cabinet ministers and 10 provincial ministers, State House said. The appointments follow Hichilema's re-election for a second term in the August general election.
From Lumwana to the ministry
"Why do you have duplicities in the issuance of export licenses? What does that mean? Confusion." – President Hakainde Hichilema
Before entering politics, Tambatamba worked as sustainability manager at Barrick's Lumwana copper mine in North-Western Province, Reuters reported. She has represented Kasempa in the National Assembly since 2016 and served as Minister of Labour and Social Security from 2021 until this month. Her National Assembly profile lists her as a social worker by training, with degrees from the University of Zambia and Bradford University in the UK.
Anadolu Agency reported that she is the first woman to head the mines ministry. She succeeds Paul Kabuswe, who led the ministry for nearly five years and lost his Chililabombwe seat in the 13 August election, according to Ecofin Agency.
The 3 million tonne target
Zambia, Africa's second-largest copper producer after the DRC, produced about 890,000 tonnes of copper in 2025, Ecofin Agency reported. The government wants 3 million tonnes a year by 2031, more than three times that level, which depends on expanding existing mines and bringing new projects into production.
Under Kabuswe, the government secured investment commitments to restart Mopani and Konkola. Tambatamba will also oversee new local content rules aimed at increasing the participation of Zambian businesses in mining, Ecofin Agency reported.
Hichilema targets red tape
At the swearing-in, Hichilema told the new ministers that excessive bureaucracy is still frustrating investment. He questioned overlapping export permit approvals across government institutions and directed ministries to harmonise their work and remove barriers facing the private sector.
He also told officials to resolve disputes holding up a proposed US$200 million mining project in Sinda District, Eastern Province, calling it "a national asset", and called for faster progress towards the country's 10,000 MW electricity generation target. "The focus is delivery," he said.
Why it matters
Zambia's copper ambitions affect suppliers, contractors and investors across the region, and the Copperbelt's growth also depends on power and transport links through Southern Africa. With direct experience at a Barrick operation and five years running the labour ministry, Tambatamba arrives with ties to both mine operators and the workforce as she manages licensing, local content and the investment needed for the 2031 target.
Source: State House Zambia; additional reporting from Reuters (via MINING.COM), Ecofin Agency and Anadolu Agency.