Zambia, Africa's second largest copper producer, said on Tuesday that it expects production to hit 850, 000 tonnes this year.

Last year, the southern African nation produced 774,000 tonnes of the red metal, up from 710,860 tonnes produced the previous year.

Minister of Mines Christopher Yaluma said the increase was premised on government's prudent steps to creating a favorable investment environment in the mining sector.

The Zambian minister, in remarks delivered at the 2017 Zambia Mining Investment Forum in London, added that the country has a lot of investment opportunities in the mining sector, with large deposits of other minerals.

The government, he said, was keen to ensure that mining operations benefit the investors and the country, adding that the revision of its mining law would bring about transparency and accountability in the sector.

In 2015, the country revised its mining law which saw the mineral royalty tax for open cast mines pegged at nine percent from 20 percent while underground mining operations tax was pegged at six percent. Endit

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