By:Miningweekly

Mercuria will join forces with Zambia’s Industrial Development Corp., it said in a statement on Thursday. The Geneva-based company, which hired Trafigura Group veteran Kostas Bintas to build out a metals trading unit this year, is pushing to increase its exposure to copper.

Trading houses are working to tie up access to metals vital to the energy transition. For Mercuria and others, that means heavy investments in African countries such as Zambia, the continent’s No. 2 copper producer.

“You will see us very present in Africa and putting our money where our mouth is in respect of the Copperbelt” region, Bintas said in October.

IDC has a 60.3% stake in ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc, which owns minority interests in major copper projects run by global mining companies. The tie-up with Mercuria will help “position Zambia as a key player in international markets,” IDC Chief Executive Officer Cornwell Muleya said in the statement.