1. There has been mining there for thousands of years
Archaeologists believe that the Gokomere people (who are the ancestors of today’s Shona people, among others) were smelting iron in what is today Zimbabwe as long ago as the 1st...
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...
There are two kinds of people – those who invested in bitcoin early and have made a fortune; and those who wished they had. But the real story behind this amazing cryptocurrency isn’t its rapid rise in value or...
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...
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...
Step 1
Ore is taken out of the ground
Holes are drilled in the ground (if it’s an open-pit mine) or in the rock-face (if it’s an underground mine), and explosives are placed in them to blast it open. The resulting...
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...
1. It is very rich in minerals
The DRC has the largest reserves of coltan and is the biggest producer of the metal, which is needed in almost all electronic devices. The DRC produces more than half of the world’s...
Technology and innovation, along with the relentless search for new mineral deposits, are taking mining into unchartered waters. Quite literally, in this case, as mining companies look to begin harvesting minerals that can be found on the seafloor.
Barely five...
1. It is Africa’s second-largest gold producer
In 2016, Ghana produced 90 tons of gold; only South Africa – with 140 tons – produced more gold on the continent. The gold mining industry accounts for five percent of the country’s...
