‘New fee will ‘strangle’ small-scale miners’
By Ludia Ngwadzai
SMALL-SCALE gemstone miners in Zambia have warned government that they will be pushed out of the sector after the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) increased the fee for environmental project briefs (EPBs) to over K106,666.
The Emerald and Semi-Precious Stones Mining Association of Zambia (ESMAZ) president Victor Kalesha said the new fee was exorbitant and beyond the reach of majority small-scale gemstone miners.
Kalesha said the already exorbitant fee had represented an increase of more than 527 per cent from the previous K17,000 charge and could cripple operations in the gemstone sector, particularly among emerald miners in Lufwanyama.
“Under Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 3 of 2026, small-scale gemstone miners, including emerald miners, are required to pay K106,666.40 for EPBs. Many of whom are Zambian citizens, cooperatives and young people operating with limited financial capacity,” he said.
Kalesha said the new requirement could also result in miners failing to renew their mining licences because they would be unable to obtain the required ZEMA clearance.
“The majority of our members are Zambian citizens, cooperatives and youths who have no capacity to pay over K100,000 just for ZEMA approval,” he said.
Kalesha wondered why there was a contradiction in the treatment of different categories of small-scale miners.
He said while ZEMA recently reduced fees for artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) operations to between K3,000 and K4,000 to encourage formalisation, similar relief should be extended to gemstone miners.
Kalesha warned that maintaining the current fee could lead to widespread licence defaults among gemstone miners seeking renewals.
“Many members applying for renewal of mining licences will default because they cannot secure ZEMA clearance at this prohibitive cost,” he said.
Kalesha urged ZEMA to urgently review Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 3 of 2026 and realign the EPB fees for small-scale gemstone miners to between K3,000 and K17,000.
He said the association had formally written to the director general of ZEMA to address the matter.
Kalesha appealed to President Hakainde Hichilema to intervene, saying there was a need to address prohibitive fees affecting small-scale miners.
Failure to address the fee structure risked pushing the small-scale gemstone sector into extinction.
He urged ZEMA to consider the financial realities facing small-scale miners before enforcing charges that could undermine their participation in the sector.
