US Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote has bemoaned the lack of adequate geological information on the country’s mineral resources.
Mr Foote says there is interest for American investors to penetrate the Zambian mining sector, but they are lacking geological information on the country’s mineral deposits.
He says Zambia is endowed with a lot of natural resources, but it takes a lot to attract capital investment into the mining sector.
Mr Foote was speaking when he called on Mines Minister Richard Musukwa and his Permanent Secretary Paul Chanda.
He said advanced aerial geological data has become a game changer in the mining industry, but this can only be achieved through access to current geological information.
On Oil exploration Mr Foote inquired from the Minister if there is more room for other international investors in the sector.
And Mr Musukwa assured Mr Foote that Zambia has partnered with China to do geological mapping in the Northern parts of the country with the aim to provide best data which will spur growth in the mining sector.
Mr Musukwa invited other countries to partner with the ministry to carry out further mappings of other parts of the country.
The Minister stated that the detailed information obtained from the surveys will be packaged for investors and other stakeholders.
only thing Lungu and PF are goof at is lining their pockets and corruption. #48 houses
Do not tell Americans, and or the French or British a nation’s resource wealth. Look at the middle East and Hawaii. They will never leave.
Dullo dullo dull!
How many Geologists has CBU graduated. How many Civil Engineers and Surveyors has CBU produced since independence. How many Mining Engineers has CBU and Unza molded since independence? How many Geography practitioners/Scientists does Zambia have.
Talk of the Engineering Institute of Zambia, what is your role in Zambia? When Foote asks the question he is not supposed to ask about our Mineral Resources, how dull can a Minister sit up with the head high inviting “other countries to partner with the ministry to carry out further mappings of other parts of the country” . I am ashamed.
This is sad, if they can’t locate who built 48 apartments in Lusaka just in last 1 year and still building, how can they locate where Manganese in rural areas? They have hired Chinese, at how much?
Maybe same Chinese should be hired to make mapping of who owns what house and building in Lusaka.
We also call a probe into America’s poor black people.
@1.2 that’s why we say that at the moment Zambia has no leadership to instil confidence even in the cabinet ministers in our ability as Zambians to run the show on our own without going to other countries for assistance, what we see is just firefighting, doing the bare minimum to show that someone is reporting in the office, otherwise there is no vision, no longterm plan to secure the nation’s natural and labor resources. I don’t blame Musukwa’s response, nothing much is expected from him but to show up at the office and receive visitors, he is not asked to think outside the box. Very comfortable playing by the post colonial script.
Me ambassador these fellows are good for nothing but consume oxygen on earth the best you can do is to colonize them again.
The minister’s statement actually gives me the goose bumps about how the KCM debacle will turn out. It’s best they heed expartriate advice real quick and do damage control before the whole saga heads south for the Country. It’s apparent they ran into a burning building without much thought even though it was though the building was already on fire but poor planning, acting with little information. I am worried.
Really laughable…surely Foote you wasted fuel seeing dullards like Richard Musukwa a former primary school tutor …he must have thought you were coming to give aid or fund some project..you disappointed him!!
Zambia would be better placed with the British or American investment especially with uranium in Siavonga than any other country. Environmentally including security, are the best.
God bless Zambia.
Do we need to partner with China for such sensitive information. Why can’t we invest in technology and use our on people to that…?
Plus the chinese will just hoodwink you that there is nothing there, and then come back at night to dig it up, whilst you are fast asleep drunk
It feels like you’re stripping Zambia naked.
Every jim and jack is seeing Zambia’s private parts. Zambia’s nakedness must be held sacred and covered from the outside mineral lust eyes.
I hate it when politicians publicly play dull. The last time we let politicians play dull, our mines where sold, for a song with heavy double h kickbacks. He wasn’t smart enough to protect Zambia’s interest, but to protect his greedy asz. Disband or reform EIZ or form a proactive SAZ.
For the record SAZ must be taken as Scientists Association of Zambia. Zambia must launch its Satellite one day.
Yes indeed. If you and the entire PF can board that Satellite, Zambia is much safer with you orbiting Earth for eternity.
it’s such a shame. nothing that Zambia can do on her own. fyonse “international community”, you think they care about you?
like @thorn pointed out, Zambia has graduates who can do survey and mappings, but fyonse china this china this, fu ck! any where else they are viewed and watched with a suspicious eye because of their activities, not in Zambia, you’ve opened the door to your bedroom and given them free and open access.
every country must have certain projects that are very sensitive and can only be done by trusted citizens, Zambia has no such, fyonse tu ma chi ne se…
and that’s how emericans operate, you can’t just say come and invest when there’s no data that can help them analyze. they are big on #s, how much, where, when….stuff like that. not at somewhere in the nw…
This country is stinking rich with natural resources everywhere. Kaunda destroyed it all by by providing free things to the citizens to the extend where the people upto now want free things even free meals.The white collar job mentality has brought us here.want KK introduced interpreneuship skills way back in the 1970s and people would be owning mines that produce Emeralds, Gold, Copper, Manganese and Cobalt
Many more would have timber plantations of their own.Name one single Zambian who has a timber plantation apart from state run ZAFFICO?
Leave the mineral resource in the ground in the 50% unexplored areas of Zambia for the next generation who should be able to do the exploration on their own. No need to rush into that when we can’t see benefits from the other 50% explored.
Let that land be used for agriculture for now.
THE United States Ambassador To Zambia Daniel Foote has rightly observed Zambia is rich in minerals resources and commodities
There is need to get stock of inferred ad those non inferred mineral resources such as we need to have our own mineral commodity reports and the mineral year books to inform investors and the citizens the countries wealthy often underestimated or stated with little investor real information
The most authentic report is HAS OFTEN BEEN BY the U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY by the us the example being the ” MINERAL COMMODITY SUMMARIES 2019″ BY THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
The ambassador should increase his focus on mining also apart from healthy and increase support to…
The ambassador should increase his focus on mining also apart from healthy and increase support to the mining sector and ministry in this area
The US has been know to have quality educational and expertise in minerals and commodities which could be of value to the sustainable Investments in the Zambian mining sector
In the mcs2019 you ca get almost a fair understanding of Zambian resources but it could be better if such was documented and made available locally for potential investments and activities of value in the sector
When did this ministry last publish a comprehensive geographical atlas for Zambia?
Allow me to disagree with Ambassador Daniel Foote, our mineral deposits are well known country wide. The geology of Zambia is well know with detailed geochemical and geological mapping which commenced in 1932, then 1958, 1963 to 1968. The biggest challenge the country is facing poor reading culture and our Journalist do not investigate but report from kachepa talk. Please visit our Geological Survey of Zambia you will learn something. No deposit has been discovered in the last 50 years and Zambia is next to South Africa in terms of geological information and data.