Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM, OTC: FQVLF, LSE: 0P6E, LuSE: FQMZ) contributed $3.46bn to Zambia’s economy in 2025, Mining Weekly wrote on May 25.
It said the group’s latest yearly Tax Transparency and Economic Contributions Report highlights that the company employed about 12,000 people, engaged over 11,500 contractors, and supported more than 1,500 local suppliers during the year.
“Completion and commissioning of First Quantum’s Kansanshi S3 expansion project, in Solwezi, represented a major milestone, reinforcing the long-term contribution of Kansanshi to copper production, employment and government revenues,” said FQM Zambia country director Anthony Mukutuma.
Apart from Kansanshi, FQM also owns Sentinel, an open-pit copper mine and the Enterprise Nickel Project in the southern African nation. It owns Cobre, a copper mine in Panama and Ravensthorpe, a nickel operation in Australia.
It prepares the document in line with Canada’s Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act and other international transparency frameworks.
The company’s contributions included government revenues, salaries and wages, local procurement and community investment initiatives.
It paid $63.4mn in royalties to Zambian State-owned investment company ZCCM Investments Holdings, $7.1mn to two local councils and $23mn in community development projects.
The company spent $2.14bn on procurement, $389mn in salaries and wages and $357mn in taxes.
“First Quantum’s operations in Zambia play a central role in both our business and in the country’s economy,” Mining Weekly cited Mukutuma as adding.
“This report provides transparency around payments made to the government, alongside information on employment, local procurement and other direct economic contributions that support Zambia’s broader economic activity.”
© 2026 bne IntelliNews, source Magazine