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Zambia, Africa’s top copper producer, in its quest to diversify from traditional production
of the red metal, has mapped and identified over 50 percent of the mineral potential areas,
local media reported.
The exploration undertaken since last year has seen 52 potential mineral rich areas mapped
after explorations by the Government and various stakeholders as the country seeks to
expand its mineral wealth and improve its social sector.
Mines deputy minister Richard Musukwa says over 50 percent has been explored since last
year and plans are underway to identify more areas with various other minerals including
manganese.
The Government is now considering possibilities of issuing large scale exploration licences in
manganese-prone areas including Luapula,Eastern and Northern Provinces, the Zambia Daily
Mail Quoted Musukwa as saying recently.
There have been significant exploration done so far with 48 percent of geographically
surveyed maps remaining for discovery as the Government seeks to further increase its
exploration exercise and identify more minerals other than copper.
Large scale mining licences will soon be issued to exploration companies to venture into
Northern, Central,Luapula and Eeastern provinces.
Presently Managese is mined on small scale in Luapula province but the Government
is seeking to expand its efforts into various parts of the country to exploit the mineral
potential it is endowed with and ensure Zambia remains a mineral rich country unlike
depending on copper which has been mined over the years.
The Government, Musukwa adds has intensified monitoring and supervision of mining
related activities in the mapped areas using the geographically mapped data to ensure
maximum returns.
It is the Government’s desire that the discovery of more minerals will assist improve the
welfare of people in the affected areas and assist improve the social sector, where both
affected mining companies and the Government will seek to improve the people’s living
conditions, according to data.
It is envisaged that with more areas identified with various minerals, Zambia’s copper
outturn will rise to 1.5 million by the years 2016 and increase the country’s capacity to raise
foreign exchange through export and sale of copper and other minerals to foreign metal
markets.
Zambia has a mining history which spans over ninety years including the late 1960’s, when
Zambia was the world’s third largest copper producer, after the US and the former Soviet
Union. Mining was and remains central to the Zambian economy. It has played a key role
in the social and economic development of the country. Zambia has predominantly been a
copper mining country being the largest copper producer in Africa and the world’s seventh
copper producer.
In the 1970’s, copper production in Zambia reached its peak (700,000 tons). Subsequently,
falling copper metal prices caused annual production to drop to 200,000 tons in the late
1990’s. Since the early 2000 following completion of the privatisation Of the mining sector,
Zambia’s mining sector has recovered sharply.
With the rising prices of metals on the international commodity markets spurred by
increased demand for metals from Asia, especially China, Zambia’s copper production has
surpassedits peak recorded in
1972 of 700,000 tons.
Zambia has continued to attract foreign direct investment in the mining and this has
supported this increase in copper other metal production. Copper production has increased
from 572,793 tons in 2008 and raising to over 800,000 tons in 2012 with a projection that
copper production will reach 1,500,000tons by the year 2016 on account of new mining
projects that are currently under development.
The mining sector has attracted investment in excess of USD 8 billion since the year
2000 creating 74,000 jobs by the year 2012 up from 27,000 jobs in the year 2000. It is
projected that investments in the mining sector will reach approximately USD 15 billion on
account of new projects under implementation and/or exploration by the year 2017 if the
international metal prices hold Above current levels recorded in the first and second quarter
of the year 2013 (eg, copper prices are just about or below USD 7,000 as of
Q2 2013).
Zambia’s endowment of mineral resources is substantial and the mineral wealth includes
metals, gemstones, industrial, agricultural, building and energy minerals. Production
of metallic minerals dominates the mining sector. Nevertheless, the full potential of
these and other known mineral deposits is yet to be realised creating greater exploration
opportunities.
Zambia comprises a number of very diverse geological terrains ranging from a stable
early Proterozoic craton to structurally complex “mobile belts” and younger cover rocks.
This diversity hosts the considerable exploration potential of the country. The geological
complexities and multiple tectono-thermal events evident in Zambia are due, in large
part, to the country’s unique geographic location between the massive Kasai Craton to the
west and the Zimbabwe-Kaapvaal (‘Kalahari’) and Tanzania cratons to the south and north
respectively. Inter-cratonic dislocations and the buttressing effects of these stable blocks
have exerted considerable control on the geological evolution of the country.
Some 80% of the country has been mapped, although a significant amount of this work is
unpublished, including the reconnaissance mapping of the western and north- Eastern parts
of the country-mapping is carried out at 1:50,000 scale and published at 1:100,000 scale as
quarter degree sheets accompanied by a report.
