Emerald and Semi-Precious Stones Mining Association of Zambia (ESMAZ) says its key priority for 2026 is to operationalize mines that have remained idle due to lack of mining equipment and limited access to finance.
Speaking in an interview with Money News, ESMAZ President Victor Kalesha said government has demonstrated political will by establishing a Small-Scale Mining Fund, which the Association hopes to utilize.
Mr. Kalesha noted that access to finance has been a major challenge for small-scale miners, adding that ESMAZ will engage the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development on how the newly established fund can be accessed.
“Access to finance has been a major challenge that we feel we need to address, seeing that government has put in some political will of even establishing a fund, small-scale mining fund, which fund we would like to utilize by engaging government and speaking to them on how we can be able to utilize this fund in terms of procedures of disbursement.”
He said the Association’s focus this year is to revive the emerald mining sector through sustained engagement with key government institutions.
“So this year’s priority is to see that the sleeping giant in emerald mining is awakened through serious and consistent engagement with the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Finance, as well as the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Ministry,” he said.
Mr. Kalesha added that ESMAZ will also engage government on mechanisms to promote value addition in the emerald sector, particularly through developing local cutting and polishing capacity.
He further emphasized the need for reforms aimed at strengthening small-scale emerald mining.
“So as an Association also, we feel that government should prioritize in trying to relaxing certain statutory requirements that affect the growth of the mining, small-scale mining sector, especially the emerald sector, which has the potential to contribute effectively and positively to the economy of the country.”
Mr. Kalesha said building local capacity in gemstone processing would be a major milestone for the industry, although it would require matching international standards.
“That will be a milestone that we should start adding value to our emeralds. But we need to talk and see how do we match the standards of the Indians that have been cutting for years and generations. So we will engage government and have conversations,” he added
