Canada’s First Quantum Minerals (FQM) is strengthening its presence in Zambia’s copper belt by acquiring a 15% stake in Prospect Resources (Prospect), an Australian-listed battery metals developer and owner of the Mumbezhi copper project.

The A$15.2M (US$9.7M) investment will support the advancement of the Mumbezhi project in northwest Zambia, with FQM also taking on the role of key technical partner alongside Prospect’s exploration team. Located just 25km from FQM’s Trident project (home to the Sentinel and Enterprise mines), Mumbezhi hosts an estimated resource of 107.2Mt grading 0.5% copper, equivalent to 514.6kt of contained copper. The funding will accelerate exploration activities and aligns with Zambia’s national objective to triple annual copper production to 3Mt by 2031.

Although the project is still in the exploration phase, the deal signals growing investor confidence in Zambia’s copper sector and reflects the country’s increasingly supportive policy environment. Furthermore, it demonstrates FQM’s long-term commitment to copper supply security and regional leadership, especially as it ramps up its smelting capacity through the Kansanshi S3 expansion project.

FQM has a long-standing presence in Zambia and is a major copper producer in the region. Its Sentinel and Kansanshi operations produced a combined 402kt of copper in 2024. If Mumbezhi proves economically viable and advances to the production phase, it could make a modest but meaningful contribution to medium- to long-term copper supply.