Canadian mining firm Barrick Gold Corporation has invested $3.7 billion in the Zambian economy since 2019, the company has announced.
Barrick contributed $887 million in tax, royalties, salaries and procurement in 2024 via its Lumwana Mine to rank amongst Zambia’s top five taxpayers. Up to 72% of the $906 million spent on goods and services in 2024 was within Zambia, increasing capital spent on local services to $2.5 billion since 2019.
According to CEO Mark Bristow, the company will create an additional 2,500 construction jobs by 2028 through expansion programs aimed at increasing annual copper production at Lumwana to 240,000 tons. The programs will expand Barrick’s workforce by an additional 550 permanent jobs while the Business Accelerator Program will empower 150 Zambian SMEs.
The company will build new employee housing in Manyama, an industrial supplier park and an airport, slated to be operational by the end of 2025, according to Bristow.
Barrick will use its new exploration licenses in Northern Zambia to help the country archive production increase target of 3 million tons per annum by 2031, reiterated the CEO.