State Participation

There is a strict requirement that a person shall not prospect for minerals or carry on mining operations or mineral processing operations without the authority of a mining right or mineral processing licence granted under the Mines and Minerals Act (2015).

The Director of Mines Development Department (MDD) is responsible for granting mineral rights The act set up two cadastre offices – one at the central level (to process applications for mining rights) and one at the provincial level (to forward applications to the central office).

Normally prospecting licences for mineral resources are granted by the Geological Survey Department, but auctioning may be undertaken in areas where known mineral resources exist. Click here to read the rest of the licensing information and click here to visit the Zambia Mining Cadastre Portal .