108
Mining & Energy
has put a strain on the copper industry in Zambia;
however, there is international optimism that the
prices will rise in the near future.
Gol
d and sil
v
er
Gold is found predominantly along the Mwembeshi
Belt, located in the Central and Eastern provinces,
as well as in NorthWestern Province. Silver has also
been found on the Copperbelt, where it is produced
at a number of copper mines. Silver can be found in
other regions as well, including Nyimba and Petauke
in Eastern Province, the Kafue National Park, and
the Umba River area.
Zambia’s most important gold mine is the Dunrobin
Gold Mine, which is 120 kilometers west of Lusaka.
A project to extract gold from slag at Dunrobin mine
is underway. Silver is produced at Silver King Mine.
Prospecting and exploration for gold, silver, and
diamonds is ongoing throughout many parts of the
country.
Energ
y
mineral
s
Coal is mined at the open pit Maamba Colliery in the
Gwembe Valley. It is mined by Maamba Collieries
Limited (
MCL’), which is primarily owned by Nava
Bharat Ventures, following the sale of 65 percent of
the company’s assets by ZCCM-IH to the Singapor-
ean-based group in early 2010.
MCL is Zambia’s largest coal supplier and currently
runs two open cast coal mines in the Kanzize and
Izuma basins, near Sinanzongwe in Southern prov-
ince of Zambia. It is reported to have 78 million
tonnes of coal reserves.
Uranium deposits exist in a variety of geological
environments in Zambia. Exploration to unlock the
country’s significant reserves has focused on po-
tential mineralization in the Copperbelt, Karoo Age
sandstone, and the gneiss domes region of North-
Western Province. The Siavonga Region is also host
to several small deposits, with an estimated resource
reserve of approximately 6,400 metric tonnes of ura-
nium oxide. The two uranium exploration companies
that dominate this area are Denison Mines Zambia
Limited and African Energy Resources Limited.
Industrial
,
construction,
and
ag
romineral
s
Feldspar is found in pegmatite, which is a source of
metals that includes tin and gemstones. Relevant
sites that have been identified include the Northern,
Northwestern, and Eastern provinces, the Pemba
area, the Serenje and Siavonga region, and both
west and south Lukusashi.
Natural
Resources
Zambia also has some valuable pure white marble
deposits in Lusaka and other provinces. Lusaka also
has marble quartzite and light pink marble. There
are large granite reserves in Itezhi-tezhi and Kalo-
mo, which are usually speckled black or grey. A rare
blue type of granite can be found in Solwezi. Clay
deposits occur throughout the country, with impor-
tant deposits located in Serenje, Chama, Solwezi,
Kasanka, Chingola, Mkushi, and the Luano Valley.
The Copperbelt is also home to the mining of silica
while fluorite. Although graphite reserves have not
been quantified, they are known to exist in a num-
ber of areas. Tantalite occurs in Zambia in Southern
Province and in Petauke district.
Zambia’s only producer of limestone and related
products, the Ndola Lime Company, supplies the
local manufacturing, agricultural, and construction
industries. It also exports to South Africa, the DRC,
Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, and Tanzania.
The smal
l
-scal
e mining
(
SSM)
sector
The small-scale mining sector is labor-intensive by
nature, and, as such, it has great potential to gener-
ate much employment for the people of Zambia and
infuse rural areas with news sources of income. Lua-
pula Province recently has generated some serious
small to medium-scale mining operations of manga-
nese. Other small-scale mining operations include
the mining of amethyst, emeralds, and zircon.
Despite the number of SSM operations, Zambia has
failed to be recognized as a chief producer of the
best emeralds, amethyst, red garment tourmaline
and many other gemstones because of the manual
nature of these operations and the inability to access
finance from financial institutions. Thus, the Small
Scale Mining Sector is in need of assistance regard-
ing the development of managerial skills, business
development, technical expertise, and marketing
strategies.
The UNZA School of Mines and other institutions
plan on providing short-term courses to improve
in such areas. There are also plans to introduce a
training program for instructors in various skills so
that the Small Scale Miners can help in training the
newcomers of the industry.
