Company: Kansanshi Mining
Country: Zambia
Sector: Mining
CEO: Tristan Pascall (CEO, First Quantum Minerals – parent company)
Website: Not publicly listed
Careers Page: Not publicly listed
LinkedIn: Not publicly listed
Email: Not publicly listed
Headquarters: Solwezi, North-Western Province, Zambia
Founded: Modern large-scale operations began in the 2000s
Valuation/Revenue: $1.539bn revenue (African Business Top 250, 2025 ranking, rank 102)
Kansanshi Mining PLC operates the Kansanshi Mine near Solwezi in Zambia’s North-Western Province, widely described as Africa’s largest copper mine. It is 80%-owned by Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals, with Zambian state investment vehicle ZCCM Investments Holdings holding the remaining 20%, and it remains one of the most actively developed large-scale mining operations on the continent as of 2026.
What Does Kansanshi Mining Do?
Kansanshi is a large open-pit copper mine that also produces gold as a valuable by-product. Ore is processed through a large-scale concentrator and, historically, a smelter complex, producing copper concentrate and copper cathode for export, primarily to global metals markets, alongside gold doré. As one of the largest copper producers in Africa, Kansanshi plays an outsized role in Zambia’s mining-dependent economy and export earnings.
How Big Is Kansanshi Mining?
African Business magazine’s Top 250 ranking for 2025 placed Kansanshi Mining 102nd among Africa’s largest companies by revenue, with turnover of roughly $1.54 billion. The mine’s scale has grown substantially in recent years: following completion of the S3 Expansion project, a $1.25 billion investment designed to add 25 million tonnes of annual processing capacity, Kansanshi achieved commercial production from the expanded facility on 1 December 2025, taking total processing capacity to approximately 53 million tonnes per annum — one of the largest single-mine expansions completed in Africa’s mining sector in recent years.
Who Owns Kansanshi Mining?
Kansanshi Mining Plc is 80% owned by First Quantum Minerals Ltd, a Canadian mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with the remaining 20% held by ZCCM Investments Holdings, a Zambian state-linked mining investment company that is itself listed on the Lusaka Securities Exchange. In a notable structural change effective 1 December 2022, ZCCM converted its dividend rights in Kansanshi into a 3.1% revenue royalty instead, altering how the Zambian state captures value from the mine’s output.
What Has Kansanshi Mining Been in the News For Recently?
Beyond completing its S3 Expansion in late 2025, Kansanshi has featured in First Quantum’s efforts to diversify its financing and cash flow following the loss of its major Cobre Panamá copper mine in Panama, which was ordered shut in late 2023 amid a Panamanian Supreme Court ruling and public protests over its operating contract — a development that significantly increased the relative importance of Kansanshi (and First Quantum’s neighbouring Sentinel mine, also in Zambia) to the group’s overall production and finances. In August 2025, First Quantum announced a gold streaming agreement with Royal Gold tied to Kansanshi’s future gold production, a financing structure that monetises a portion of future gold output in exchange for upfront capital.
Is Kansanshi Mining Publicly Traded?
Kansanshi Mining Plc itself is not separately listed on any stock exchange; it operates as a subsidiary. Its majority owner, First Quantum Minerals, is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker FM, and minority owner ZCCM Investments Holdings is listed on the Lusaka Securities Exchange, giving investors two indirect routes to exposure to Kansanshi’s performance.
How Do I Contact Kansanshi Mining?
No verified official website URL, careers page, LinkedIn company page or public contact email specific to Kansanshi Mining Plc could be confirmed during this research; recruitment and corporate information would most likely be accessed via parent company First Quantum Minerals’ corporate channels.
How Does Kansanshi Fit Into Zambia’s Mining Sector?
Kansanshi is one of two major mines First Quantum Minerals operates in Zambia, alongside the Sentinel mine at Trident (also known as the Kalumbila project), together making First Quantum one of the largest private employers and taxpayers in Zambia’s economically vital mining sector, which accounts for a large share of the country’s export earnings and government revenue. The relationship between First Quantum and the Zambian government has at times been contentious, including disputes over mineral royalty rates and taxation that have periodically made headlines in Zambian and international mining press, though the 2022 restructuring of ZCCM’s dividend rights into a fixed revenue royalty reflects one of several efforts to stabilise the fiscal relationship between the mine and the state. Kansanshi’s continued expansion, including the completed S3 project, signals sustained confidence in Zambia’s copper sector even as global copper markets remain sensitive to Chinese demand and broader commodity price cycles.
Links
Website: Not publicly listed
Careers Page: Not found
LinkedIn: Not found
Email: Not publicly listed
FAQ
Is Kansanshi the largest copper mine in Africa? It is widely described as Africa’s largest copper mine, located near Solwezi, Zambia.
Who owns Kansanshi Mining? First Quantum Minerals (80%) and ZCCM Investments Holdings (20%).
Is Kansanshi Mining publicly traded? Not directly; parent company First Quantum Minerals trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: FM).
What did the S3 Expansion do? A $1.25 billion investment that added 25 million tonnes of annual processing capacity, reaching commercial production in December 2025.
How big is Kansanshi Mining? Roughly $1.54 billion in annual revenue as of the 2025 African Business Top 250 ranking.
Where is Kansanshi Mining located? Near Solwezi, in Zambia’s North-Western Province.