LUSAKA, April 5 (Reuters) - Zambia's copper output could

rise to about 1 million tons by 2026, boosted by investment in

expanding production at mines including those owned by First

Quantum Minerals ( FQVLF ), Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane

said on Friday.

Production of copper, key to Zambia's economic growth, has

been gradually declining in Africa's second-largest producer of

the metal even as the government targets lifting output to about

3 million tons within the decade.

Copper output slumped to 698,000 tons in 2023 from 763,000

tons the previous year, data from the Zambia Chamber of Mines

showed.

Production could also get a boost from Mopani Copper Mines,

which recently secured a new investor, and the revival of

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) after the state resolved an ownership

dispute with Indian miner Vedanta Resources.

"The two mining giants (Mopani and KCM) were out of the

equation, now they are back," Musokotwane said on Lusaka-based

radio station Radio Phoenix.

Ongoing investments in expanding output at First Quantum's

Kansanshi mine are also expected to support the rise in metals

output, Musokotwane said.

Canadian rival Barrick Gold ( GOLD ) said last year it was

spending about $2 billion to drive up output at its Lumwana mine

in Zambia to about 240,000 tons of copper by 2028.

The United Arab Emirates' International Resources Holding

(IRH) pledged to invest $1.1 billion to expand output at Mopani

mines after buying a 51% stake in the copper assets previously

owned by Glencore.

Zambia is also hoping that fresh investment helps increase

mining activities at KCM after operations were nearly paralyzed

following an ownership dispute with Vedanta that had dragged on

since 2019, when the then government attempted to seize the

assets.

"So by end of 2025 to 2026, we will be producing more than a

million tons of copper," the finance minister said.