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Copper mining in Zambia - history and future

2016; Academy of Science of South Africa; Volume: 116; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.17159/2411-9717/2016/v116n6a1

2411-9717

J. Sikamo,

Mining and Resource Management

Mining had been going on in the region known today as Zambia long before the white settlers came on the scene.The mining was of a traditional and subsistence nature and confined to surface outcrop deposits.The natives of Zambia would melt and mould the copper into ingots used as a medium of exchange and other metal products, such as hand tools and weapons.Although on a small scale, the mining activities by the natives were wide spread across the Copperbelt region and other places.In fact, most of the deposits discovered by the settlers were found with the assistance of local scouts, who had knowledge of the whereabouts of the copper minerals.The Chibuluma mine deposits are the only ones in Zambia known to have been discovered without information passed on from the local people.It was the presence of copper in Zambia which led to the region being put under British indirect rule in 1889 (About.com, 2015) after the partition of Africa.The years following 1889 saw extensive exploration activities in the region by western companies and individuals.Exploration activities led to the first commercial copper being produced at Kansanshi, Solwezi, in 1908(Roan Consolidated Copper Mines, 1978).Later, prospectors obtained concessions from the British South African Company (BSA) which had obtained mining rights in the area from King Lewanika of the Lozi in 1900 (About.com, 2015).As more copper deposits were found, Zambia was put under direct British rule as a protectorate under the Colonial Office in 1924.Post-1924 saw the beginning of massive investments in mine developments, led mainly by American and South African companies.As a result, there was an influx of white settlers into the area as well as natives who migrated from their villages to provide labour on the mines.Table I shows the increase in the white population during this period.