Mines PS on potential gold mining in Central province
Thu Oct 11 2018
Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Mines Paul Chanda says Central province has great potential for
gold and base metals.
Speaking at the on-going Central
Province Investment Forum and Expo, Mr.Chanda said mining for the mineral is
being done at a small scale but one large mining firm is conducting feasibility
studies and is expected to almost graduate.
Mr.Chanda disclosed that there is
no major mines established getting the materials whose deposits are located in
Luano and Mumbwa districts.
He added that the province is
endowed with other mineral resource which includes Zinc, Lead, Limestone,
Manganese and gemstones.
Mr.Chanda further said the
province had since witnessed the establishment of a cement plant in Mkushi
district and eight firms were actively mining manganese in the district.
He said the old mine that was
launched last month had commenced production and is expected to commence export
of copper soon.
Meanwhile,Mr. Chanda has
encouraged Zambians owning mining licences in Central province to form
cooperatives to awaken and realize full potential of the sector.
Mr.Chanda said investing in the
sector comes with high stakes to invest in productivity and borrow the
necessary funds to purchase equipment.
He disclosed that 80 percent of
the mining licences issued by the Ministry in the province were awarded to
Zambians.
Mr.Chanda said a total of 176
exploration licences for large scale,219 issued for explorations at small
scale,16 large scale mining licences were issued but most had not yet commenced
works.
He added that 105 licences were
issued for small scale mining while 61 licences issued for mineral processing
with four processing plants already operational.
He said the 2013 Mineral Resource
Development Policy is evidenced by governments commitment to creating an
enabling environment for local and foreign partnerships in the sector to
thrive.
Source: https://www.lusakatimes.com/