Zambia has restricted the number of mining licences that a company can hold at a time to five to limit speculative purchases.
"Every miner will be restricted to five licences and those that need more will have to justify it," Zambia's mines minister Paul Kabuswe was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"We have had a lot of licences being used for speculative purposes and we want to curtail that."
He advised companies holding more than five licenses to contact the ministry.
The mines ministry suspended the issuance of mining licences last February and commissioned an audit following public complaints about a lack of transparency.
The audit showed that some companies owned up to 50 licences, while others were not registered with Zambia's patents and companies registration agency and may not be paying tax.
Kabuswe said illegal miners would be given 90 days of amnesty to register with the ministry of mines.
Zambia is Africa's second-largest copper producer.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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