Zambia's Ministry of Mines had not recovered 626.64 million kwacha in penalties imposed on licence holders as of 31 August 2026, according to the auditor general's report, whose publication was announced on Monday, 19 October. The sums penalise breaches of obligations linked to mining titles.
The report identifies 5,222 licence holders concerned, notably for failing to submit reports, breaching boundary demarcation of perimeters or non-payment of royalties. The accounts examined cover the financial year ended 31 December 2025, but the auditors updated the recovery status through the end of August 2026.
Penalties linked to boundary marking represent the first category, at 276.24 million kwacha for 2,302 licence holders. Those relating to mining returns reach 149.04 million kwacha, while sanctions linked to surface rental fees total 99.72 million.
The ministry was also due to collect 30.48 million kwacha in annual surface rental fees still unpaid at that date. These are the rights themselves, presented separately from the penalties in the report. Large exploration licences account for 22.27 million kwacha of these arrears, compared with 7.50 million for large mining licences.
In her accompanying statement, acting auditor general Patricia Malaila calls on administrative managers to strengthen revenue collection and internal controls. She also calls for swift implementation of the corrective measures recommended by the auditors.