All Zambia’s nine provinces have been earmarked for new mining projects as strong demand and high prices on the international market trigger a scramble by investors for minerals deposits, according to Mines Minister Kalombo Mwansa. In a special Television Zambia broadcast late Tuesday, Mwansa said projects amounting to billions of dollars of investment would commence around the country over the coming year.
Tentative mineral exploration across the country by a clutch of investors revealed vast mineral deposits, the exploitation of which would require massive local and international investment, he said.
Chongwe district in Lusaka province, Mkushi in Central province, Petauke in Eastern province and Munali Hills in Southern province were examples of areas where new deposits had been found, he said.
To date, some 3 billion dollars have been invested in Zambian mining, mostly in copper, amid projections that figure will rise to around 4.5 billion dollars within the next two years.
The discovery of uranium in North-Western and Southern provinces augured well for the economy, projected to grow by an average 7 per cent over the next three years, said Mwansa.
Albidon Zambia Ltd and Australia’s Equinox Minerals Ltd have discovered substantial quantities of uranium and copper deposits at their operations in north-western and southern Zambia respectively.
The government of President Levy Mwanawasa has been praised by investors for its sound fiscal policies and tough line on corruption.
The country’s roads and communications network, however, require upgrading to enable the movement of goods and services in and out of mining areas.
North-Western Railways announced this week it had secured 250 million dollars in financing from Britain, South Africa and the United States to build a rail link to the northern Copperbelt region.
© 2007 dpa – Deutsche Presse-Agentur ( copyright by monsters and critics .com)
I hope this is not one of those unproductive talks by politicians. We have been failed by politicians and the national soccer team a lot.
We busy proudly propaging what is to be, when we are failing to get maximum income for what already is.
Focus on getting maximum value from the current high copper prices and resultant super profits.
Wrong priorities as usual
Exploration is messy business……these companies are going to dig the biggest ditches we have ever seen south of the Equator!!! If they don’t find what they are looking for they will pack up and go and dig elsewhere!!! Do we have strong enough laws to protect our environment??? We must be very tactful in the way we embrace these exploration efforts.We risk our beautiful landscape being littered with open pit mines etc etc. Environmentalists any comments??
The idea is well come. Although it would be stupid to use all the mines that will indicate the presence of minerals.This country is not ready to handle that kind of the situation.The revenue will simply go to enriching a few individuals due to the current existing corruption.look at what was reported last week as government revenue from the profit that the mines made.A very small %age indeed.That shows the level of irresponsibility at which we are.What kind of development can we do with such kind of revenue.We really have to be mindful that the natural resources are not ours but for the future generations.Do we need to reach a point where we want our future generations to come and find only trenches where the minerals were being mined such that they can’t even be able to bury them because the country will have no capacity?No!We have to tailor our minds towards Sustainable development as a collection of methods to create and sustain development which seeks to relieve poverty, create equitable standards of living, satisfy the basic needs of all peoples, and establish sustainable political practices all while taking the steps necessary to avoid irreversible damages to natural capital in the long term in turn for short term benefits by reconciling development projects with the regenerative capacity of the natural environment.The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken into four constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, social sustainability and political sustainability. Only when we start thinking in theses lines can we be in a position to woo reasonable investors and not infesters.
You guys, why is it so difficult to break thru in Zambia. Sometimes I think this country is cursed. We have never had war since independence, we have vast natural resouces but thats all there is to it. Natural resources.
Talk is cheap. Everyone can afford it. Its high time we started acting. Just look at the Z.N.B.C news. All you hear are opinions. You will hear things like, ‘The minister of health says AIDS will be combated if…’. No one says AIDS has been, Hunger has been, Salaries have been…. Its always this will be, that would have been… We are sick and tired of wills and woulds. We want more haves.
WHAT IF we all started doing the IF we are suggesting? IF we did that, would we HAVE the IF?
Ba Nkhataboy(4),I quote from your submission:
“Sustainable development as a collection of methods to create and sustain development which seeks to relieve poverty, create equitable standards of living, satisfy the basic needs of all peoples, and establish sustainable political practices all while taking the steps necessary to avoid irreversible damages to natural capital in the long term in turn for short term benefits by reconciling development projects with the regenerative capacity of the natural environment..”
it will take a while to digest this !!!!!!!!!!!!
#7 Pundit, All I am driving at is to simply interpret sustainable development as cited from the report Our Common Future, known as the Brundtland Report, which states that sustainable development is development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needsâ€. In short sustatinable development is tailored towards doing something that should be on going.But when you look at our natural resource like minerals, you will find that they are finishing assets. As such to guard against encountering similar problems that we faced before these current investors came in we have to put up measures as outlined in what you quoted. I hope that clears the air.
#7 Pundit, You are very much right indeed. Sustainable developent does not happen within a night. It really takes time. And that’s why the benefits are overwhelming.
Ba Nkhataboy(8&9), i thank you most sincerely for making it easier for me to understand your point.
#8 Nkataboy, I beg to differ with you on the explanation of sustainable development te? The 1972 Brundtland Report “states that sustainable development is development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” meanig:
1. dont exhaust the resource at a goal
2. dont pollute the environment
3. let production of resources be a life time
4. imiti ikula epanga te? meaning you cut one tree for chacoal and you plant 3 trees te?
Plz read the book of Rufqua. it has everything. Meanwhile am selling it. since niwebo I can drop isampo pamutengo wamu jazz. Get me pa Inters..ask for BA JOZE ZE BIGIE. Names yama worker bandi “Mabvuto(z) shortcut Mabvu(*) Crankshaft Tembo and Staffnurse Magarita Zulu.
Well come back Ba Joze. You are a man of the people. What you have said is no different from what I said in my comment. It is only that the “1972 Brundtland Report” is widely used. Otherwise different scholars and researches have now defined sustainable development in different ways.　It has no single meaning. On the other hand, I will ensure that I pass thru Inters and ask for you so that I can access the book. Cheers Ba Joze and thanks for your contradictory remark.
#11 Ba Joze, Did you read #4 and #8? If you did then you wouldn’t have come up to differ with me over your definiton of sustainable development as enshrined in the 1972 Brundtland Report. I should think your few points you listed are covered under #4 and #8.And may I advise you to refer to different sources of information and not only one source “Book of Rufqua”.It can’t contain all the discussions we are having on this blog. Umwana ushienda atasha banyina. Otherwise no big deal. Well come back from researching. Although the only bad part is that you went to research but only from one book. Always yours.
was is happening in zambia is a God given favour which should be appreciated by zambians through hard working in whatever each one is doing. the government should however, should chip in by increasing its sharehodings in the new mining investment and also through legistures which are favourable to citizen empowership by means local investment and shareholding.the issue of skills development should also take centre stage meaning that departments responsible should be doing human resourse audit and zambias should be earmarked for training.zambia should become the proud nation we sign about in the nation antheme.God is really great
Cephas, where are you? Are you still in Bots my man? I am now a chola boy to a top KITWE POLITICIAN. I do part time work pa KMB bakaamba. Nadabwa fye ati umukaamba abika po ishina yareal. All the best my man.
#15 finshi utina, mwandi Cephas the truth shall set you free