Zambia has approved the deployment of military personnel to counter illegal mining operations in key hotspots across the country, the government said on Thursday.

“Cabinet has observed an increase in illegal mining activities involving gold, manganese, copper, sugilite, tin and lithium, mainly exploited by artisanal and small-scale miners,” government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa told reporters in Lusaka, following a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Hakainde Hichilema.

Mweetwa said illegal mining has fuelled smuggling of minerals, environmental pollution and an influx of foreign nationals into the mineral-rich Southern African country.

Zambia has experienced a surge in unregulated mining, particularly in remote areas, with unregistered tenements being exploited for deposits. In some cases, mine collapses have resulted in death or injury due to unsafe mining practices.

Exploitation of local people

“Illegal exploitation of minerals has also brought about exploitation of local people through lower prices for their mineral commodities as opposed to regulated international market prices,” said Mweetwa, who also serves as information and media minister.

He said the cabinet stressed the need to formalise artisanal and small-scale mining by issuing licenses to local communities and encouraging the formation of mining cooperatives to increase local participation in the mineral value chain