LUSAKA, Oct 9 – Zambia is negotiating a critical minerals agreement with the United States after separating the discussions from a $1.5 billion health funding pact signed by the two countries on Thursday, Foreign Minister Mulambo Haimbe said.
Speaking at the signing ceremony for the health agreement, Haimbe said the government had pushed for the two arrangements to be treated independently.
“There was this (Memorandum of Understanding) on health and another on critical minerals, and we were saying that these need to be decoupled, and this has been done,” Haimbe said.
The minister confirmed that negotiations on the minerals agreement were continuing but declined to provide further details. He did not identify which minerals could be covered or specify the terms under discussion.
The separation follows Zambia’s resistance to an arrangement that would directly link US funding for its health sector to greater American access to the country’s mineral resources.
Zambia is a significant player in the global copper industry and the second-largest copper producer in sub-Saharan Africa after the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its mineral resources have become increasingly important as governments and companies seek secure supplies of materials used in electrification, renewable energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
The outcome of the ongoing negotiations could shape the terms of future US engagement with Zambia’s mining sector. However, with discussions still underway and no specific minerals or commercial conditions disclosed, the scope of any eventual agreement remains unclear.
For now, the two governments have established separate tracks for health cooperation and critical minerals negotiations, with the $1.5 billion health agreement proceeding independently of the unresolved minerals deal.
