Global miner BHP is keen to pursue large-scale copper exploration in Zambia, the country's mines ministry said on Monday, highlighting growing international interest in the central African nation's mineral wealth, according to Reuters.
Zambia, Africa's second-largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo, aims to more than triple output by 2031 and is stepping up efforts to attract investment.
BHP has largely stayed out of Africa since spinning off South32 in 2015, but is now re-engaging.
The company launched exploration workshops across southern Africa in April.
Campbell McCuaig, BHP's head of global generative exploration, said many remaining large deposits are deeply buried or hidden beneath geological cover, and BHP is deploying advanced methods to detect "mineral systems."
He welcomed Zambia's efforts to expand access to geoscience data.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
