Zambia’s President Hands over the Black Mountain to Coorperative, Women in Mining and the Host Community.

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has handed over the famous black mountain, a mineral rich slag dumb of mining waste from the previous ZCCM mining days situated in Nkana, Kitwe on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. In his statement, President Hichilema said the site has been given to three groups who have been given licenses to operate and these includes a Consortium of cooperatives representing all the 10 districts of the Copperbelt province, Women in Mining and the Community that hosts the black mountain.

Below is the President’s statement on the handover of the Black Mountain;

“My fellow citizens, The new dawn government is committed to improving the lives of the Zambian people by reviving the economy and bringing about inclusive development. Our government appreciates the enormous value and great potential of the mining sector, and its ability to be a major factor in our country’s economic transformation.

Now is the time to bring about sanity in the mining sector, that has been ravaged by greed, corruption and unscrupulous practices by certain investors and those charged with governance. When we said it was time for change, we meant it and we intend to ensure that we work towards achieving the bold vision of annual copper production of three million metric tonnes and most importantly, the inclusion of Zambians in this incredible growth story.

Our women, youth and the communities in which mining operations are based, are highly expectant and deserve to be included in various aspects of the mining industry’s supply chain.

In an effort to empower Zambians, our government has decided to make available part of the black mountain in Kitwe.

Following consultation and due diligence, we are officially handing over part of the slag dump to cooperatives owned by Zambian youth and women, who have been granted licenses to operate.

The beneficiaries include:

I. Consortium of cooperatives representing all the 10 districts of the Copperbelt province;

Ii. Women in Mining; and

Iii. Community hosting the black mountain.

Fellow citizens, We promised the people of the Copperbelt better circumstances where they will have access to support that will enable them to be active participants in the mining sector.

We are pleased to announce that contracts have since been signed between the beneficiaries and the identified mining operators with the necessary equipment and qualified staff who have already undergone safety training.

We promised to assist our people by enabling access to markets and in doing so, ten different companies have been identified as off-takers of the material from the black mountain. Youth and women cooperatives will soon realise monetary benefits from the mineral sales that they will have complete control over.

Further, in order to support specific youth groups, a revolving fund has been created under the district commissioner’s office and a committee has since been formed to manage the fund with strict fund management and accountability guidelines.

By products from the production process will be used for the production of concrete and pavers for townships roads.

Fellow citizens, you can be assured of our care for the welfare of our people and know that the change that you voted for will bring about better days for you and your families.

God bless you and god bless Zambia. I thank you.”

Hakainde Hichilema

President of the Republic of Zambia