The Next Frontier of Copper: Scaling Responsibly in Zambia

About this episode

The episode features a discussion with Ricus Grimbeek about the future of copper mining in Zambia and the importance of responsible scaling and stakeholder engagement.

In this episode, we chat with Ricus Grimbeek, an experienced mining executive with more than three decades of leadership across major mining operations and Executive Chair of Makor Resources, a company focused on building a district-scale copper platform in Zambia. Throughout the conversation, we explore what attracted Ricus to Makor at this stage of his career, why he believes Zambia remains one of the most misunderstood copper opportunities globally, and how long-term consolidation strategies differ from the traditional junior mining model. We also discuss the realities of building scalable mining businesses, the importance of social licence and stakeholder alignment, and what separates projects with genuine scale potential from those driven purely by market narrative. In addition, Ricus shares his thoughts on one of mining’s biggest long-term challenges, responsibly integrating artisanal and small-scale mining into the broader mining economy through initiatives like Mine-Hive and why the industry must rethink how future copper supply is discovered, developed, and delivered if it’s going to meet growing global demand over the coming decades. This episode is brought to you by…

People in this episode

Host: Rob Tyson

Guest: Ricus Grimbeek

Topics covered

• copper mining
• Zambia
• artisanal mining
• stakeholder alignment
• mining consolidation

Keywords

• copper
• Zambia
• mining
• artisanal mining
• sustainability
• stakeholder engagement
• Makor Resources
• Mine-Hive
• market narrative

Sponsors

Mining International

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Makor Resources

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