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Investors Buy Zambian Assets as Copper Rally Ties Output to AI Build-Out

September 1, 2026 at 01:15 EDT

Infra & Chips
Funding & M&A

Investors are buying Zambia’s stocks, bonds and currency despite a contested election, as a copper rally recasts Africa’s second-largest producer as a supplier for the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out.

September 1, 2026 · Zambia

Copper ties Zambia to the AI build-out

Investors are buying Zambian stocks, bonds and the kwacha after a contested vote, as record copper prices and data-center wiring demand recast Africa’s second-largest producer as a metals supplier for AI infrastructure.

$14,300+

LME copper per ton, 2026 records

+45%

Copper gain over the past year

3 Mt

Zambia output target by 2031

$2.3B

KoBold Mingomba mine capex

AI halls use more copper per megawatt

S&P Global Market Intelligence copper intensity, metric tons per MW. Column height is proportional.

21 t/MW

Crypto data center

47 t/MW

AI training data center (China)

Takeaway: An AI training hall in that sample uses more than twice the copper per megawatt of a crypto facility.

Zambia output: 2025 versus 2031 target

Million tonnes. Columns scale at one block per ~0.3 million tonnes.

0.89 Mt

2025 production

3.0 Mt

2031 government target

From AI halls to the Copperbelt

1. AI data centers
Wiring, busbars, cooling

→

2. Power grids
Transmission and generation

→

3. Zambian mines
Mingomba and expansions

→

4. Capital inflows
Bonds, stocks, mine capex

What bulls see

Policy continuity after Hichilema’s ~60% win, a 37% oversubscribed bond auction, and a $2.3 billion AI-guided mine at Mingomba.

What still constrains

At least 2,000 MW of extra power, a deep wet mine with first metal in the early 2030s, and a wide band on AI copper demand.

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