Zambia’s mining regulator on Friday said it had suspended operations at Mopani Copper Mines’ Mufulira mine after it failed to account for all its underground personnel.
The Minerals Regulation Commission said in a statement the decision followed recent accidents at Mopani’s operations.
The commission said the Mufulira mine had not complied with regulations requiring management to maintain a system to account for all people working underground at any given time.
“Operations will remain suspended until the mine rectifies all deficiencies identified in its personnel accounting system” the commission said.
It said it would also conduct a comprehensive audit of all operations at Mopani’s assets, including the bigger Nkana mine.
Mopani Copper Mines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company is one of the biggest copper miners in Zambia, Africa’s second largest producer of the metal vital for clean energy technologies.
The United Arab Emirates’ International Resources Holding (IRH) acquired 51% of Mopani in 2024 in a deal worth $1.1 billion.
The balance is owned by Zambia’s state mining company ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH).
IRH plans to spend $300 million to lift Mopani’s annual copper output to about 200,000 metric tons from around 70,000 metric tons currently.
Zambia’s copper output was 820,670 metric tons in 2025, up from 732,580 tons the year before.
The southern African country is targeting expanding copper output to 3 million metric tons annually by 2031.
(By Chris Mfula and Nelson Banya; Editing by Sfundo Parakozov and Tomasz Janowski)
