Mines and Minerals Development Act, 2015 (No. 11 of 2015).

This Act makes provision with respect to the extraction of material, whether solid, liquid or gaseous, from land or from beneath the surface of the earth in order to win minerals, or any operations directly or indirectly necessary or incidental to the extraction of the materials. Furthermore the Act concerns, among other things, trading in minerals, use of water, surface rights, environmental protection and administration. "Minerals" in this Act does not include (a) water, other than water taken from the land or any water body for the extraction of any mineral from that water; and (b) petroleum. The Act does apply to radioactive minerals.
The Act defines general principles for mining and minerals development. Among other things, the exploitation of minerals shall ensure safety, health and environmental protection, wasteful mining practices shall be avoided so as to promote sustainable development and prevent adverse environmental effects and development of local communities in areas surrounding the mining area shall be based on prioritisation of community needs, health and safety.
The Public Service Commission shall appoint as public officers — (a) the Director of Mines; (b) the Director of Mines Safety; (c) the Director of Geological Survey; and (d) the Director of Mining Cadastre. The Director of Mines shall supervise and regulate the proper and effectual development of mines and conduct of mining operations in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The Act establishes a Mining Licensing Committee, which shall, among other things, consider applications for mining rights and non-mining rights and grant, renew or refuse to grant or renew mining rights and non-mining rights and advise the Minister on matters relating to its functions under this Act. Mining rights and mineral processing licences shall be administered and registered by the Mining Cadastre Office.
A holder of a mining right or mineral processing licence shall not exercise any rights under this Act— (a) without the written consent of the appropriate authority, upon any land near public dams or national monuments; (b) without the written consent of the owner or legal occupier of the land— (iii) upon any land which is the site of, or is within ninety metres of, any cattle dip tank, dam or any private water as defined in the Water Resources Management Act, 2011; (c) upon land occupied as a village, or other land under customary tenure without the written consent of the chief and the local authority for the district in which the village is situated; (d) due compliance with the relevant provisions of the Forests Act, 2015 upon any land declared to be a National Forest, Local Forest, Botanical Reserve or Private Forest, as defined in that Act; (e) upon any land comprised in a National Park, Community Partnership Park, Game Management Area or a bird sanctuary without complying with the Zambia Wildlife Act, 2015. Subject to the terms of an access agreement, the owner or lawful occupier of any land within the area of an exploration licence shall retain the right to use and access water and to graze stock upon, or to cultivate the surface of, the land in so far as such use, grazing or cultivation does not interfere with the proper working in the area for exploration.
The Mining Licensing Committee shall, in deciding whether or not to grant any mining right or mineral processing licence, take into account— (a) the need to conserve and protect— (i) the air, water, soil, flora, fauna, fish, fisheries and scenic attractions; and (ii) the features of cultural, architectural, archaeological, historical or geological interests; and (b) the need to ensure that any mining or mineral processing activity prevents any adverse socio-economic impact or harm to human health, in or on the land over which the right or licence is sought. Conditions as to the preservation of the environment or wildlife shall be attached to a licence. The Act also provides for liability and redress in respect to damage done to the environment or wildlife. An written approval of the environmental impact assessment relating to the exploration shall be obtained from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency as provided under section 29 of the Environmental Management Act, 2011.
The conditions subject to which the mining right is granted or renewed shall include such conditions as may be prescribed by the Minister, by statutory instrument, or as the Minister may, in a particular case, otherwise determine, in relation to— (a) the conservation and protection of—(i) the air, water, soil, flora, fauna, fish, fisheries and scenic attractions; (ii) the features of cultural, architectural, archaeological, historical or geological interest; and (iii) in or on the land subject to the right or licence; (b) the protection of human health, in consultation with the Minister responsible for health; (c) the rehabilitation, levelling, re grassing, reforesting or contouring of such part of the land over which the right or licence has effect as may have been damaged or adversely affected by exploration operations, mining operations or mineral processing operation. Such conditions shall conform to specifications and practices established by national standards for the management of the environment as it is affected by mining or mineral processing operations.