Mining In Zambia.

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth from an ore-body, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposits which forms the mineralized package of economic interest to the miner.

Copper and cobalt are the key commodities produced by Zambia, with the Zambian copperbelt remaining the focus of mining and development activities. The copperbelt, which is situated between Zambia and the DRC, is one of the world's greatest metallogenic provinces.

Overview

Zambia contains the world's
highest grade copper and cobalt deposits, with tailings dumps often containing
grades greater than that of most hard rock mines. Zambia is ranked as the
world's seventh largest producer of copper, generating 3.3% of the western
world’s production, and the world’s second largest producer of cobalt (19.7%).

It
also has significant quantities of selenium (+-16.7t) and silver (+- 8t)
together with minor gold and platinum group elements which are produced as
important by-products of the copper mining and processing.

Konkola
Copper Mines Plc (KCM) is the largest mining and metals company in Zambia. The
company produced 41 958 tonnes of finished copper in the 3rd Quarter of 2009. 
Luiri Gold is currently active in the
Luiri Hill Project area which is adjacent to ground held by BHP Billiton in JV
with AIM Resources. This consortium has been actively exploring an iron oxide
gold-copper mineral target.

 The Luiri Hill Project area has shown
significant gold potential at the Dunrobin and Matala Prospects. Total resource
estimates from these two projects show a significant increase in gold ounce
estimates with the total inferred mineral resource increasing from 378,000
ounces to 656,000 ounces (+74%) and the total indicated mineral resource
increasing from 117,000 ounces to 144,000 ounces (+23%).

Although the country has a diverse range
of mineral resources, Zambia's mining industry have been primarily focused on
copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold and cobalt mining.