Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Ltd.

Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Ltd. (ZCCM) was a parastatal organization formed in 1969 when the Zambian government nationalized the copper-mining industry. It became one of the largest companies in sub-Saharan Africa. The company was created by merging Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines (NCCM) and Roan Consolidated Mines (RCM) in 1982.12

ZCCM's operations were heavily impacted by fluctuating copper prices on the world market, leading to economic decline and a balance-of-payments crisis in the 1970s. By the mid-1980s, Zambia was heavily indebted, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pushed for economic restructuring and privatization. ZCCM was eventually closed in March 1995 as part of an aggressive privatization scheme, though efforts to privatize the mines continued into the 21st century.123