Theory question 107
Geography of Africa(a)(i) Name two areas of copper mining in Zambia (ii) Describe one method of copper mining in Zambia. (b) Highlight four contributions of copper mining to the economic development of Zambia. (c) What three problems face the mining of copper in Zambia?
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(a)(i) Copperbelt towns: Kitwe (Nkana), Ndola, Mufulira, Chingola (Nchanga), Luanshya (Roan Antelope), Chililabombwe.
(ii) Open-cast: overburden removed by explosives and excavators, ore dug in terraces and carried by trucks (Nchanga). Underground (shaft): vertical shafts sunk to the ore body, horizontal tunnels driven, ore blasted and hoisted; ore crushed, ground, concentrated by flotation and smelted into copper.
(b) Main source of foreign exchange; government revenue; employment; growth of towns and infrastructure (roads, railways like TAZARA); raw materials and growth of related industries; power development (Kariba, Kafue); manpower training.
(c) Landlocked country, long distance to ports and high transport costs; fluctuating world copper prices; shortage of capital and skilled labour; exhaustion of deposits and rising costs of deeper mining; flooding of mines and pollution; power shortages.
Mention Zambia's landlocked position among the problems.