The United States Ambassador to Zambia, Michael C. Gonzales, has described the KoBold Metals shaft construction groundbreaking at Mingomba Mine in the Copperbelt as the beginning of what he called a real, modern and mutually beneficial economic partnership between the United States and Zambia.
The ceremony took place on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at Mingomba Mine and was attended by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Ambassador Kanyama, Minister Kabuswe, Board Chair Musonda, and KoBold leadership including Dr. House, Dr. Goldman and CEO Makayi, among other distinguished guests and investors.
KoBold Metals, an American company, has committed three billion US dollars to bring the Mingomba copper mine to life in partnership with ZCCM-Investment Holdings, making it the single largest private investment in Zambia’s history. 
“What we are witnessing here at Mingomba is not just the start of a mine. It is the start of something larger, a demonstration of what a real, modern, mutually-beneficial economic partnership between the United States and Zambia can look like,” Ambassador Gonzales said.
He said KoBold Metals is a vanguard of American investment in Zambia, and pointed out that the company brings far more than financial muscle to the table. “Transparent and accountable American investors like KoBold come to the table with more than a checkbook. They bring cutting-edge technology. They bring global best practices. They bring integrity, both innate and enforced by shareholders. They bring a serious, sustained commitment to skills transfer and local capacity development that leaves something lasting behind, not just a hole in the ground,” he said.
Gonzales contrasted KoBold’s approach with what he described as less responsible models of foreign investment. “It does stand in sharp contrast to models of foreign investment that arrive in opaque contracts, that displace local workers, that cut corners on environmental protections, skirt rule of law, and that leave host communities no better, and often worse, than they found them. The contrast speaks for itself, and Zambians know it well. America brings integrity,” he said.
The Ambassador said the true heart of the US-Zambia relationship lies not in government agreements or diplomatic programmes but in people-to-people ties. “It is American entrepreneurs studying Zambia’s copper belt geology from thousands of miles away and deciding to bet everything on it. It is the young Zambian girl who goes to Virginia to study only to become CEO of an American company back home. It is Zambian engineers who will be trained, Zambian contractors who will be hired, Zambian communities who will thrive,” he said.
Gonzales was direct in his view that governments and donors are not the drivers of economic growth. “It will not be governments, and it certainly will not be donors that drive a country’s economic growth. It will be the private sector. It will be investment that creates jobs, pays taxes to fund social services, develops skills, and drives growth from the ground up. Companies like KoBold are not just investors, they are partners in Zambia’s future,” he said.
The Ambassador also called on the Zambian government to maintain a stable and reliable environment for investment, pointing out that licensing timelines, regulatory consistency and the ease of moving capital are not abstract bureaucratic concerns but critical factors that determine whether investment flows into a country. “Policy stability and robust actions to improve the business enabling environment to truly facilitate the ease of doing business in Zambia will be absolutely critical. Whether for companies or governments, reality must match rhetoric to maintain credibility,” he said.
He stressed that KoBold will need a responsive and consistent government partner throughout the life of the project. “KoBold will need a steady and reliable government partner throughout, not a guarantor of outcomes, and certainly not a yes-man, but a government, and a joint venture partner in ZCCM that is responsive, consistent, fair, and that fully understands what is at stake in this partnership and co-equally committed to its success for the benefit of the Zambian people,” Gonzales said.
Addressing President Hichilema directly, the Ambassador said: “Can you believe this day is finally here? I know we have both been anticipating this day for a very long time.”
He closed his remarks with a message to both the KoBold team and the Zambian workers involved in the project. “To the Zambian workers who are building this mine, to the Zambian executives who are leading this company, and to those who will one day work in it, this is yours too. What lies beneath this ground has the power to raise everything above it, and today, that work begins,” Gonzales said.
