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The Chambishi copper mine in Zambia received the first Chinese mining tunnel boring machine exported to Africa: an 800-ton, 130-meter-long machine that digs and lines tunnels in a single pass, replacing drilling with explosives and marking the beginning of mechanized mining on the continent.
On May 13, 2026, in the underground of the Chambishi copper mine in Zambia’s Copperbelt region, a cutting head began to slowly spin, initiating an unprecedented chapter in African mining history. The responsible machine is a tunnel boring machine developed by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation (CRCHI), headquartered in Changsha, China, and represents the first mining tunnel boring machine the country exports to the African continent.
The operation is not just a commercial debut. For the copper mine operated by NFCA, it marks the abandonment of traditional drilling and blasting methods and the entry into an era of mechanized and intelligent tunneling. The machine will dig up to 9.7 kilometers of tunnels in the Southeast Mining Project, facing continuous hard rock, geological fault zones, and high underground temperatures, conditions that would make the conventional method slow, dangerous, and imprecise.
A machine the size of a lying skyscraper
The numbers of the tunnel boring machine are impressive on their own. Approximately 130 meters long, equivalent to a building of more than 40 floors lying underground, and a total weight of around 800 tons, the machine was specifically designed for the conditions of the Chambishi copper mine. The excavation diameter is 5.63 meters, a dimension calculated to open access tunnels capable of supporting the entire underground operation of the project.
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What makes this tunnel boring machine special is not just its size, but its ability to move in confined spaces. CRCHI designed the machine with a minimum horizontal turning radius of 50 meters and the ability to adapt to inclinations of up to ±15 degrees, features that allow precise maneuvers in tight underground environments, something conventional machines of this size normally cannot execute with the same flexibility.
Goodbye to explosives: the end of an era in the copper mine
The traditional method of tunnel opening in underground mining has always relied on drilling and blasting: drill the rock, install explosives, detonate, remove the material, and repeat the cycle. It is a time-consuming process, dangerous for workers at the excavation front, and produces irregular tunnel profiles, with constant over-excavation and under-excavation.
The tunnel boring machine solves this problem by performing excavation and lining in a single pass. Instead of fragmenting the rock with explosives, the rotary cutting head advances continuously, opening the tunnel and installing the lining in an integrated manner.
The result is a tunnel with a regular profile, without the waste and inaccuracies of the old method, and, most importantly, without exposing workers to the high-risk blasting operations that have historically marked underground copper mining.
Technology to face hard rock and extreme heat
The underground of the Chambishi copper mine presents a hostile geological scenario: continuous hard rock, fault zones, and high temperatures that compromise both the equipment and the comfort and safety of the operators. To face these conditions, CRCHI equipped the tunnel boring machine with a set of custom-developed auxiliary systems.
The machine features an auxiliary gripper system, immediate support system, and geological forecasting system, which allow anticipating changes in the terrain and responding to them in real-time. A high-efficiency cooling system was installed to deal with the underground heat, improving operator comfort, while a cutting blade monitoring system tracks component wear and reinforces operational safety along the planned 9.7 kilometers of excavation.
Digital mining arrives in Africa
The deployment of this tunnel boring machine is not an isolated event; it is part of what CRCHI describes as Africa’s first digital mining project. The mechanized operation drastically reduces the number of people needed at the excavation front, removing workers from high-risk tasks and reallocating them to monitoring and control functions, which require different technical qualifications.
This model represents a structural change in the way mines are constructed on the African continent. Africa holds a significant portion of the world’s mineral reserves but has historically relied on labor-intensive and high-risk construction methods.
The arrival of equipment like this tunnel boring machine signals a transition that could redefine the standards of safety, efficiency, and productivity of African mining in the coming decades, with Chinese technology positioned at the center of this transformation.
What’s at stake: 60 thousand tons of copper per year
All this engineering has a concrete and measurable objective. NFCA plans for the Chambishi copper mine to reach an annual mining and processing capacity of 3.3 million tons of ore, with an annual production of 60 thousand tons of contained copper. To achieve these numbers, tunnel access needs to be fast, safe, and reliable, exactly what the tunnel boring machine is designed to deliver.
Copper is a strategic metal in the 21st century, essential for the energy transition, vehicle electrification, and renewable energy infrastructure. Global demand for the metal is growing at a rapid pace, and projects like Chambishi gain relevance in a market where each additional ton of copper has economic and geopolitical weight. The ability to open tunnels in a mechanized and continuous way is what will sustain this production in the long term, ensuring access to the deeper and richer layers of the deposit.
Did you know that most of the copper driving the energy transition comes from underground mines like Chambishi? What do you think about China leading the mechanization of mining in Africa? Leave your opinion in the commentss and tag that friend who loves heavy engineering and big machines.
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