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Mining & Natural Resources
From Gems to Jewels
ENERGY MINERALS
Coal is mined at the open pit Maamba Colliery in the
Gwembe Valley. It is mined by Maamba Collieries
Limited (‘MCL’), which is majority owned by Nava
Bharat Ventures following the sale of 65% of the
company’s assets by ZCCM-IH to the Singaporean
based group in early 2010.
MCL is Zambia’s largest coal supplier and currently
runs two open cast coalmines in Kanzize and Izuma
basins, near Sinanzongwe in Southern province of
Zambia. It is reported to have 78 million tonnes of
coal reserves.
Nava Bharat plan to inject new life into MCL’s current
activities, which have been operating at a loss for
many years, to eventually attain a maximum produc-
tion capacity of 2 million tonnes of washed coal per
year. US$100 million will be invested in rehabilitating
the existing mining operations (including processing
plant). Construction of a new thermal power plant
(which will contribute 300MW of electricity to the na-
tional grid) and cost up to US$500 million is currently
also underway and will take 2-3 years to complete.
MCL area has an estimated total of 78.2 million met-
ric tonnes of coal reserves. It is estimated that the
reserves could last for a further 96 years.
Uranium deposits exist in a variety of geological
environments in Zambia. Exploration to unlock the
country’s significant reserves has focused on po-
tential mineralization in the Copperbelt, Karoo Age
sandstone and the gneiss domes region of North-
Western Province. The Siavonga Region also is host
to several small deposits, with an estimated resource
reserve of approximately 6,400 metric tonnes of ura-
nium oxide. The two uranium exploration companies
that dominate this area are Denison Mines Zambia
Limited and African Energy Resources Limited.
Denison Mines Zambia owns the Mutanga Project
that comprises the Mutanga and Dibwe deposits
near Siavonga at the Northeastern end of the Mid-
Zambezi valley in the Southern Province of Zambia.
Significant work had been carried out on the project
including drilling, geophysical work, geological map-
ping, and geotechnical, metallurgical, environmental
and project feasibility studies.
The project is currently at definitive feasibility stage
and two large-scale mining licenses have been
granted.
African Energy Resources Limited (AERL) is a
Southern Africa focused exploration company hold-
ing a significant tenement package in Southern Zam-
bia predominantly for Uranium.
AERL is in a Joint Venture (JV) with Albidon on the
Chirundu JV Project (containing the Gwabe and
Njame deposits) and is also involved with the Kariba
Valley JV Project (containing the Chisebuka, Muny-
umbwe and Namakande prospects). AERL is also
engaged in a third Joint Venture with Aldershot.
A Bankable Feasibility Study is currently being car-
ried out for the Njame and Gwabe prospects whilst
exploration for additional uranium resources contin-
ues. A large-scale mining license has been issued.
INDUSTRIAL, CONSTRUCTIONAND
AGRO-MINERALS
Feldspar is found in pegmatite, which is a source of
metals such as tin and gemstones. Relevant sites
that have been identified include the Northern,
Northwestern and Eastern provinces, the Pemba
area, the Serenje and Siavonga region, and both
west and south Lukusashi.