Zambia is undoubtedly one of the resource rich countries in the world, blessed with significant mineral endowments of great economic importance. Zambia is the second largest producer of copper in Africa, after Congo DR, and eighth in the world. Its annual production has, in the recent past, averaged around 750000 metric tonnes. In addition the country has numerous other mineral resources, which include cobalt, manganese, precious and semi-precious stones. Further, the country has potential for oil and gas, particularly in the Western, North-Western and Northern regions where exploratory works are already underway or expected to start. Paradoxically, with all these natural endowments in its fold, the country still ranks lowly in terms of development. In light of the socio-economic and political importance of the mining industry, its contribution to national development continues to attract immense interest and tends to be under scrutiny by Civil Society Organisations, stakeholders and the citizenry in general. Understandably, Zambia has been seeking both fiscal and non-fiscal strategies to maximise returns from the mining industry, though with varying degrees of success. This paper discusses the importance of the mining industry in Zambia and its apparent inability to impact the economy, and efforts successive governments have been exploring, in pursuit of diversification and industrialisation, in attempt to maximise benefits from the mining industry. There seems to be an apparent shift from the import substitution policy approach of yesteryears with the advent of globalisation. The quest to maximise benefits has seen many a country, including Zambia, explore a variety of avenues, from Import Substitution Industrialisation policies, which focus on protectionism to local content development. The author argues that given the failures of import substitution industrialisation policies tried in many countries over the years, there was need to seek more innovative ways to make the extractive industry benefit local economies positively; local content development provides such an alternative for Zambia, which like many other resource rich countries suffers from a “resource curse” syndrome.