Mining is not an industry that is known for its abundance of female staff. Globally, the industry has a female workforce of just 5-10% on average. But Zambia’s top mining houses are taking steps to change that, and bridging...
There is something about “uranium” that connotes a rare — and even foreboding — substance, at least partly because of the way the word sounds. Compare “uranium” to good old “tin”, and it is somehow difficult to believe that...
Drilling is the process of creating a hole in a hard surface, specifically where the length of the hole is greater than its diameter. It’s an integral part of the mining process, albeit less dramatic than, say, blasting.
If you’re...
1. Angola was colonised for nearly 500 years
Portuguese explorers first reached Angola in 1484. Luanda, which is today the capital of Angola, was established in 1575. Angola was a major source for slaves, destined for the Americas. About a...
1. It is a by-product of copper mining
You can’t mine cobalt; you can only get it as a by-product of copper mining. So, where there’s copper, there’s cobalt. The Copperbelt, which runs through the Central African Republic, the Democratic...
Liberia is Africa’s oldest independent republic
The American Colonization Society founded Liberia as a haven for freed slaves who wanted to return to Africa. Around 10,000 men, women and children made their way across the Atlantic between 1821...
To commit a billion dollars or more to a venture which might only show a return on investment 10 years from now is a tough decision which prompts tough questions:
How great is the mineral deposit?
Once exploration has found a mineral deposit worth...
Modern life as we know it simply wouldn’t be possible without copper. We rely on copper for telecommunication, for heating, and for almost everything electrical that we use in our daily lives. By some measures, we each require as...
1. Zambia’s emeralds are highly regarded
Emeralds are part of the beryl family of precious stones. Zambia is now one of the three largest producers of the beautiful deep green gemstone, together with Colombia and Brazil. Although emeralds were discovered...
Whenever you lay eyes on a diamond, your first thought is unlikely to be how extremely useful it is, as a stone. But many of the gemstones found in Zambia and elsewhere on the continent have important functions in...
