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Article: The Zambian Copperbelt: John Chadwick focuses on the smaller mines and the exciting exploration potential.(Industry Overview)
- Article from:
- Mining Magazine
- Article date:
- February 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Mining Journal Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Copper has played a dominant role in Zambia's economic history, providing as much as 85% of its foreign exchange in past peak production years of the 1970s. Inadequate investment in the sector since then saw the industry decline alarmingly into the 1990s but, newly privatised, the industry is redressing the investment imbalance and recovering, though that recovery is now being hampered by weak copper and cobalt prices, Zambia remains a major player in the global copper market, ranking among the world's top five copper countries in terms of reserves and refining capacity. Privatisation has quickly seen major benefits, with the Copperbelt today seeing much greater activity ...