Zambia has the potential to be one of the world’s largest uranium producers, says African Energy Resources executive chairperson Alasdair Cooke.
In addition, Zambia is one of the best places for making mining projects happen, he told last week’s Capital Resources conference, in Botswana.
He says Zambia’s Karoo uranium system has far greater potential than a more celebrated one in the central US, from which a million tons has been extracted over the years.
The uranium geology crosses the Zambian border into Tanzania and “you are looking at nearly 1 000 km of strike lengthâ€.
African Energy will just be “scratching the surface of it†with its proposed projects.
He says there are currently many uranium projects, which has investors pondering which will actually reach production stage.
He believes nonunderground prospects with simple geology and metallurgy are the ones that will reach that stage and also those served by good exist- ing infrastructure.
“We are very lucky in Zambia, where we have excellent power infrastructure,†he says.
The Australian company’s Zambian uranium prospect is located 20 km from the Kariba hydroelectric power scheme, where there are good road access and ample water.
“We’re very confident that we can develop these projects very fast,†he says.
The politics of Zambia are “excellent†and the company has had among its best experiences ever in terms of speed and efficiency of project development.
It applied for a mining lease less than 18 months ago and opened a boxcut only four months after that.
“It’s a mining economy and getting people is so much better than in Australia, where it is hopeless,†Cooke says.
He describes his Zambian workforce as “fantasticâ€.
Mining WeeklyÂ
Mr Cooke you seem to be all praises for Zambia’s Uranium but you forget to mention what such projects intend to do as Corporate social investments and how you intend to empower the Zambians. Please dont fool us by showering praises so that you can get the Government favour and start exploiting us . There is no way in God’s world that you could say that mining in Zambia is better than in Australia. Zambian workforce is fantastic because you regard it as cheap labour.
it is vital that zccm-ih is shareholder of the totality of the uranium mines which will be developed in Zambia.
We cannot leave foreigners the totality our resources mining !
if grz is going to allow this cook fellow and his collegues carry out the mining activities, the mining contracts must clearly spell out what chimwemwe has raised. we dont want a situation where everthing is in full throttle and things begin going wrong grz says thats not what we agreed. social investment is crucial.
#1 Imwe ba chimwemwe, I do realise you are supposed to mourn all the time as your name states, but hey I think a praise is a praise, just appreciate it. Yes the Zambia workforce and people are fantastic wherever they are and work and any publicity of that Zambian brand weather negative or positive should be celebrated. I do realise that yes workers are exploited in Zambia by BOTH the politicians and the private sector and the Zambia worker has remained faithful to his trade. Am sure one day the pay out will come
Mr Cooke is just doing slyfox tricks. We dont need such praises. Just dig our uranium and exploit us as usual. What are you up to?
Let’s find ways of retaining skilled manpower – Levy
By Sylvia Jere-Kabala,
in Langkawi, Malaysia
PRESIDENT Mwanawasa yesterday convened a dialogue session at the just ended eighth 2007 Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) during which he stressed the need for participating countries to identify practical measures that could help developing nations retain skilled manpower working in other countries.
President Mwanawasa emphasised the need for governments, private sector and civil society to also identify causes of human capital drain and measures that should be put in place to address the effects.
The theme for the Dialogue was ‘Poverty Reduction through Capacity building’.
“We will be happy to learn ways of successfully tapping national human capital that is plentiful but abroad. Why does human capital go abroad and what should be done to mitigate the effects?†he wondered.
During the same session, King Mswati III, underscored the significance of capacity building in the implementation of development projects in Africa and other countries.
He said governments and the private sector should unite in training human resource as a measure aimed at enhancing capacity in national development.
King Mswati, who was also lead facilitator of the session, said capacity building in areas of science and technology and agriculture was key if significant progress was to be achieved in eradicating poverty.
LID 2007, which officially closed yesterday, issued an Action Plan on how to implement human capital development and capacity building programmes for poverty reduction.
About 500 delegates from governments, private sector, academicians and civil society attended the dialogue that was organised by the Commonwealth Partnership Technology Management (CPTM).
LID creates a platform for governments, private sector and civil society to share experiences and lessons.
Later, President Mwanawasa held separate private talks with King Mswati III of Swaziland and Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.—
Despite the fact that our nation is endowed with abundant resources, we will still remain in poverty with shanties all around our towns and cities. We need visionary leadership that will see to it that both politicians and the private sector don’t milk our nation all it’s wealth and leave the people in more poverty. Let our leaders learn from Mr Cook’s country of Australia where every Australians basic needs are met by the government. The poor there are poor by choice unlike in Zambia where the poor are poor because of politicians and the private sectors greed.
“Zambian workers r fantastic”yeah coz u exploit them & wait till they start cutting deals
I agree with alot of the postings above EXCEPT the “Usual Suspects” whom we all know by now!
The danger is indeed signing up to exploration agreements that work to our disadvantage simply becoz our leaders think we are so poor to economically do it ourselves(true for now), the fact is, we can sit on it whilst they “court” us, this is a resource that CAN ONLY GAIN IN VALUE as energy is EVERTHING! Some one somewhere will balk before long, & will pay whatever we desire, look at Russia & its “black gold”, they didn’t have the money to invest before, but as resources in the West dwindled, they had to look to new resources, & EVENTUALLY SWALLOWED THEIR PRIDE, the new game in town was then, “WHO GETS TO IT FIRST??” Real dollars then started rolling into Russia like never before! See how Russia now flexes it muscles with the energy wand – Western Europe is treading thin ice, such that they make it a point to wear “cotton-wool gloves” when “sparring” with Russia. Repeat not the Copper saga!
Uranium is no ordinary mineral. Our govt. should treat it as a national strategic resource and aquire 51%controlling shares in the industry through ZCC-IH which can later on off-load some shares to the Zambian people.Govt should not go about Uranium the way they have gone about Copper.Uranium and Oil should be guarded jealously and benefits optimised for the development of the entire country. Rational and environmentally conscious exploitation of these mineral resources must be enshrined in our laws in order to safeguard the interests of future generations.The Minister of Mines should carefully review Mining legislation with regard to Uranium, in the same way he has proceeded with exploration and mining of Petroleum(Oil)reserves.Let these mineral endowments be a blessing to the Zambian Nation and not a Curse! Botswana offers us numerous lessons in the way they have managed and benefited from their precious mineral resourse: Diamonds. Let’s take a cue!
My concern is health and safety, climate chnage and diseases. Zambians be careful with this atomic material it will kill all of you. Actually there is no need to mine this mineral in Zambia because we have copper as good conduct of heat. Nowonder this Cooke is commenting that Zambia has the best uranium because in Australia mining it is barned. I just you hints on the health problems associated with uranium. The Gulf War Sydrome, infectious diseases, cancer. Dont just think money safety is worth more than cash if we are not careful our country is heading into a environmental disaster. What did this Cooke say is plant is near Kariba. Unless its to be used in electricity uranium is chemical weapon.
Ba Jose and AM where is Kuku and Khataboy? Have you put them behind bars because of there neutrality at looking cases.
# 6 Veteran
Iwe ci veteran leka ifyamba. u see now, nomba fyakutwala kuli “copy and paste”. If you think the article you read was interesting just PASTE THE WEB SITE.
I AGREE WITH #13
#1 Chimwemwe , its not Mr Cooks responsibility to empower Zambians. Are you telling me that upto now you cant tell the difference between a company and a government? He just stating the facts, its upto GRZ to make policies and empower the Zambians if they want to. This urenium thing will now make it possible for Northern province to have a mine.
#12 Ba Easy, ala Ba Kuku Na Nkataboy batina insele from this old men of the blog abasha ichindika, like Pragmatist and them abatukana namu ma tongues.
Easy! Let Cooke mine the uranium. Dont worry about health hazards and the environment. I am sure all measures have been put in place. The terrorist need it ie USA, Iran and North Korea even Vladimirovich Putin may need it to threaten the US. Market is readily available. As for Oil, we shall mine it ourselves Zambians.
#16, the best way to handle “the usual suspects”, is to literally not interact with them, let the write whatever, don’t boher to reply, it’s only a matter of time before it really pisses them off, they will eventually exclude themselves – ignore their cyber presence!
#11 EASY can elaborate how un processed uranium is going to kill Zambians. Do know what it takes to turn urenium in to nuclear materials? Mining urenium and processing urenium are two completelly diffrent tasks. Uranium when its mined is just like copper. it none reactive. So explain to us what you mean.
Do you that to the border of angola and Zambia in nw there is uranium. One town was completely deserted. It has a environmental hazards and dangerous to life if you came into contact with it. YOu need expertise when mining mineral so I doubt if this company has really put in place measures for workers. The first uranium mine is in Germany and it is also closed for the same reasons. You dont tell me that there no risks involved. SAGE to be cautious is good and it helps. We should just take anything that comes our way. A good example is Kabwe Town. This was just Zinc and lead mining.
#19 SAGE
– its full of electricity which comes from the Radioactivity
– Its is Rubbish
– They just get Heat from it instead of burning it like charcoal and oil
– It boils water to make steam
– It drives generators to make electricity
Uranium (IPA: /jəˈreɪniəm/) is a white/black metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table that has the symbol U and atomic number 92. It has 92 protons and electrons, 6 of them valence electrons. It can have between 141 and 146 neutrons, with 143 and 146 in its most common isotopes. Uranium has the highest atomic weight of the naturally occurring elements (see plutonium). Uranium is approximately 70% more dense than lead and is weakly radioactive. It occurs naturally in low concentrations (a few parts per million) in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite
Because uranium ore emits radon gas, uranium mining can be more dangerous than other underground mining, unless adequate ventilation systems are installed. During the 1950s, many Navajos became uranium miners, as many uranium deposits were discovered on Navajo reservations. A statistically significant subset of these early miners later developed small cell carcinoma after exposure to uranium ore and radon-222, a natural decay product of uranium. The radon has been shown to be the cancer-causing agent. Some American survivors and their descendants received compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990.
Radiation poisoning, also called “radiation sickness”, is a form of damage to organ tissue due to excessive exposure to ionizing radiation. The term is generally used to refer to acute problems caused by a large dosage of radiation in a short period. Many of the symptoms of radiation poisoning occur as ionizing radiation interferes with cell division. This interference allows for treatment of cancer cells; such cells are among the fastest-dividing in the body, and may be destroyed by a radiation dose that adjacent normal cells are likely to survive.
The clinical name for “radiation sickness” is acute radiation syndrome as described by the CDC[1][2][3][4]. A chronic radiation syndrome does exist but is very uncommon; this has been observed among workers in early radium source production sites and in the early days of the Soviet nuclear program. A short exposure can result in acute radiation syndrome; chronic radiation syndrome requires a prolonged high level of exposure.
Radioactive contamination is the uncontrolled distribution of radioactive material in a given environment. The amount of radioactive material released in an accident is called the source term.
Radioactive contamination is typically the result of a spill or accident during the production or use of radionuclides (radioisotopes). Contamination may occur from radioactive gases, liquids or particles. For example, if a radionuclide used in nuclear medicine is accidentally spilled, the material could be spread by people as they walk around. Radioactive contamination may also be an inevitable result of certain processes, such as the release of radioactive xenon in nuclear fuel reprocessing. In cases that radioactive material cannot be contained, it may be diluted to safe concentrations. Nuclear fallout is the distribution of radioactive contamination by a nuclear explosion. For a discussion of environmental contamination by alpha emitters please see actinides in the environment.
Radioactive contamination can enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection. For this reason, it is important to use personal protective equipment when working with radioactive materials. Radioactive contamination may also be ingested as the result of eating contaminated plants and animals or drinking contaminated water or milk from exposed animals. Following a major contamination incident, all potential pathways of internal exposure should be considered. Radioactive waste are waste types containing radioactive chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. It is sometimes the product of a nuclear process, such as nuclear fission. However, other industries not directly connected to the nuclear industry can produce large quantities of radioactive waste. For instance, over the past 20 years it is estimated that just the oil-producing endeavors of the US have accumulated 8 million tons of radioactive wastes.[1] The majority of radioactive waste is
“low-level waste”, meaning it has low levels of radioactivity per mass or volume. This type of waste often consists of used protective clothing, which is only slightly contaminated but still dangerous in case of radioactive contamination of a human body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection. The Chernobyl disaster was a major accident that took place at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986 at 01:23 a.m. The power plant is located near Pripyat, Ukraine. An explosion at the plant was followed by radioactive contamination of the surrounding geographic area. It remains the worst accident in the history of nuclear power. A plume of radioactive fallout drifted over parts of the Western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Northern Europe, and Eastern North America. Large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people. About 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in
Good job EASY, could you also reaserch for us the measures and remedies that need to be put in place to mine urenium safely.
in Belarus, according to official post-Soviet data.[1]
The accident raised concerns about the safety of the Soviet nuclear power industry, slowing its expansion for a number of years, while forcing the Soviet government to become less secretive. The now-independent countries of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have been burdened with the continuing and substantial decontamination and health care costs of the Chernobyl accident. It is difficult to tally accurately the number of deaths caused by the events at Chernobyl, as the Soviet-era cover-up made it difficult to track down victims. Lists were incomplete, and Soviet authorities later forbade doctors to cite “radiation” on death certificates.
Who owns these mines – what is the shareholding structure?
Fauna and vegetation
After the disaster, four square kilometres of pine forest in the immediate vicinity of the reactor turned ginger brown and died, earning the name of the “Red Forest”, Some animals in the worst-hit areas also died or stopped reproducing. Most domestic animals were evacuated from the exclusion zone, but horses left on an island in the Pripyat River 6 km from the power plant died when their thyroid glands were destroyed by radiation doses of 150-200 Sv.[29] Some cattle on the same island died and those that survived were stunted because of thyroid damage.
Grass and forest fires
If the Chernobyl plant were to collapse, a large release of radioactive dust would occur, but it would likely be a one-off event which, thankfully, could not be repeated. But it is possible for grass or forest fires to occur on a regular basis within the contaminated zone. In 1986 a series of fires destroyed 2,336 hectares (5,772 acres) of forest, and a series of other fires have since burned within the 30 km zone. During early May 1992 a serious fire occurred which affected 500ha (1,240 acres) of land which included 270ha (670 acres) of forest. This resulted in a great increase in the levels of cesium in airborne dust
#27 SAGE I will do bring infos later I be going into a meeting of MDGs in one hours time til later.
Easy just go and rest plz!!!
Easy
morning LT
afternoon LT
evening LT
dreams LT
when are you going to die buya!!!
NEXT SMART PARTNERSHIP DIALOGUE SHIFTS TO ZAMBIA
Aug. 8 -filed by Sylvia Jere-Kabala in Langkawi – Malaysia 1……Zambia will next year host the Smart Partnership International Dialogue which has just ended in the Malaysian city of Langkawi. This is an initiative that creates a stage for constructive discussions between governments, private sector and other stakeholders in the quest to overcome poverty in Africa and other developing countries. President Mwanawasa announced in a vote of thanks at the official closing of the 8th Langkawi International Dialogue, LID 2007, that Zambia will host the Dialogue in Lusaka in 2008. Mr. Mwanawasa has since invited all Smart Partnership members to come to Zambia and participate in the Dialogue in the continued efforts of finding sustainable solutions to poverty eradication in Africa and other developmental challenges. In a symbolic ceremony, Zambia’s Commerce, Trade and Industry minister Felix Mutati, officially received the Smart Partnership plaque marking the official hand-over of the Dialogue from Malaysia to Zambia. President Mwanawasa said events such as LID forum enable governments and other stakeholders to create necessary contacts for the development of the continent. He urged his counterparts, particularly those from Asia, to encourage industrialists and other investors to take advantage of next year’s Smart Partnership Dialogue, to explore investment potential in Zambia. He said Zambia offers vast investment opportunities for foreign businesses in areas of mining, tourism, manufacturing and other sectors of the economy. He said the just ended LID forum emphasized the need to promote networking hence the need to ensure that smart partnership principles extend beyond government officials to include people in wealth creation. President Mwanawasa also challenged the private sector to seriously consider investing in Africa as the continent is poised to become the next destination where ‘big money’ could be made apart from India and China. He however attributed the low investment flows to Africa to negative media portrayal of developments taking place on the continent. Mr Mwanawasa regretted that the move by the media to over-emphasise negative developments in Africa has cost the continent the much needed investment required for the economic benefit of the people. He was however confident that fora such as the LID are significant in efforts aimed at breaking the misinformation about developments in Africa in order for the continent to attract a fair share of foreign investment. Speaking earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi noted with happiness that the leaders at the LID2007 resolved to enhance human capital development and capacity building in their respective countries in a bid to enhancewealth creation and poverty eradication. Mr. Badawi thanked the heads of state and government and other delegates for the valuable inputs and cooperation in identifying practical solutions to the challenge of poverty. He said the present international economic realities required that national efforts for poverty eradication should be complimented with international action. He advised his counterparts and other stakeholders to be focused in implementing the LID 2007 Action Plan in order to foster progress in poverty alleviation. President Mwanawasa was among 16 heads of state and government who attended the 8th Langkawi International Dialogue in the Malaysian city of Langkawi. Several business executives from around the globe, academicians, civil society representatives and other stakeholders also attended the meeting which ended yesterday. The meeting among other issues, focused on how human capital development and capacity building could help eradicate poverty. Meanwhile, President Mwanawasa is today expected to visit the Malaysian island city of Pernung which enjoys the status of multifacility economic zone. The President and his entourage which includes commerce minister Felix Mutati, foreign affairs minister Mundia Sikatana and information minister Mike Mulongoti, are confident that the tour will enable government to learn how Malaysia was managing to succeed in the establishment of multifacility economic zones. Zambia plans to establish an economic zone east of Lusaka in collaboration with Malaysia’s Kulim Hi-Technology Park, KHTP………DRY 2. Zambia, other Smart Partnership countries gets 200m Pounds for Infrastructure development From Sylvia Jere-Kabala in Langkawi, Malaysia A Swiss based financial institution has given 200 million pounds to African countries to be used in the development of infrastructure. Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati says the money could be accessed by Zambia for the development of road, telecommunication and railway infrastructure. Mr. Mutati told ZANIS in Langkawi, Malaysia that government will soon come up with proposals to access the funds which will also be used in the development of infrastructure in the energy and other key sectors of the economy. And Mr. Mutati who is among government officials who accompanied President Mwanawasa to Malaysia, said the just ended 8th Langkawi International Dialogue, LID 2007, has exposed the country to valuable experiences critical in addressing poverty and other development challenges. Mr. Mutati said Zambia benefited from the Dialogue as it created a platform for the host country Malaysia to share strategies of reducing poverty to manageable levels. He said Malaysia deliberately focused on Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, as a key element for sustainable wealth creation and poverty eradication. He said government is already partnering with Malaysia in the area of promoting foreign direct investment in Zambia. The minister further noted Zambia and Malaysia have entered into an agreement for the creation of a multi facility economic zones in Lusaka. He said the full development of the economic zone project is expected to commence next year after the completion of the feasibility study being done by Malaysia’s Kulim Hi-Tech Park, KHTP. About 2, 000 hectares of land has been demarcated in Lusaka east for the development of the project. Meanwhile President Levy Mwanawasa is today expected in Pernang for a one day provincial state visit during which he will tour KHTP to familiarise himself with successess scored in the development of the economic zones in that country……DRY PMTC is crucial in HIV/AIDS fight- First Lady 3A…..The Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDSAIDS, OAFLA, says Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission, PMTC, is crucial in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. OAFLA President Maureen Mwanawasa says there is need to intensify sensitisation of HIV infected women on the importance of PMCT. Mrs Mwanawasa says the OAFLA views the PMCT programme as a vital tool in the protection of newly born babies from contracting the HIV/AIDS virus. She told ZANIS in an interview that OAFLA in Zambia is working in collaboration with government established health centres to encourage infected women to be on PMCT programme. OAFLA was established in 2002 by about 37 African First Ladies and representatives who signed a framework of action to combat HIV/AIDS on the continent through coordinated advocacy . The organisation’s members raise awareness, advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives, promote treatment, care and support programmes and develop partnership with international and local partners. 3B…..And Mrs. Mwanawasa who has returned from a two week of the MMCI activities in Northern Province, has reiterated the need to build capacities for women in their areas of operations so that they are productive. She observes that women would continue to lag behind unless a conducive environment especially in the financial sector is created that responds to their needs. The First Lady said women need cheaper form of credit which they can easily access and pay back……PIX Govt to revise Copyright law 4A…….Government is in the process of reviewing the current Copyright law in order to make it more responsive to the modern needs of intellectual and copyright protection. Once amended, the Act will provide for among other things the introduction of special security devices in form of holograms that will help identify pirated audio and audiovisual products. Information permanent secretary Emmanuel Nyirenda said this when he officially opened the Zambia Music Copyright Protection Society, ZAMCOPS, 7th Annual General Meeting in Lusaka today. This was in a speech read on his behalf by Assistant Director for Human Resources Elias Mwila. Mr Nyirenda added that when revised, the law on piracy will help ZAMCOPS and its collaborating partners to control the importation and reproduction of various musical works such as CDs, tapes and DVDs. He noted that his ministry has this year donated K15 million to ZAMCOPS as a contribution to its operational costs. 4B………Speaking at the same function, ZAMCOPS Board chairman Alfred Chisanga said piracy has continued to be a major threat to the Zambian music industry. Mr Chisanga however noted with that the association has recoded a significant increase in royalty collections and compliance by music users. He said K667 million in royalties was collected during the year ending March 31, 2007 representing a 40% increase from last year’s collection of K397 million…….PIX Firm calls for concerted efforts in Solid Waste management 5.A Lusaka based Solid Waste Firm, Catrone says solid waste management should not be left to Government alone but calls for concerted efforts Catrone Managing Director Chendende Mwandira explained that this is because solid waste has a negative impact on both humans and the environment. Mr Mwandira was speaking in an interview in Lusaka today..
Paparazi stop copy and paste, We all read the news and if you are a spokesperson for someone kindly refrain from this act.Discuss and contribute on issues of importance posted on the blog. Lusakatimes stop allowing pipo posting news already in domain.We need something to stimulate our brains such as Chitoba saga.
we definately need to guard this resource jealously, we should not be exploited as usual.
#36 Mbozi you are right, real paparrazzi are actually smarter than this unimaginative pretender!
Easy, I thought Uranium is refered to as the ‘yellow cake’ not the black colour you mentioned. It fetches almost as much as gold and soon even more..
#39 Zaka Takhi, Yellowcakes (also known as urania) are uranium concentrates obtained from leach solutions. They represent an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. Yellowcake concentrates are prepared by various extraction and refining methods, depending on the types of ores. Typically yellowcakes are obtained through the milling and chemical processing of uranium ore forming a coarse powder which is insoluble in water and contains about 80% uranium oxide and which melts at approximately 2878°C. Yellowcake is used in the preparation of fuel for nuclear reactors, where it is processed into purified UO2 for use in fuel rods for PHWR and other systems using unenriched uranium. It may also be enriched, by being converted to uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6), by isotope separation through gaseous diffusion or in a gas centrifuge to produce enriched uranium suitable for use in weapons and reactors.
I hope you understand ENRICHMENT here and the dangers it poses to the world today.
SAGE, Uranium mining is very risk and dangerous I dont know any measures that can completely it safe. maybe only Downblending can be a useful way of making uranium less dangerous.
Nuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power, industry, and military uses. In addition, there are safety issues involved in products created with radioactive materials. Some of the products are legacy ones (such as watch faces), others, like smoke detectors, are still being produced.Nuclear weapon safety, as well as the safety of military research involving nuclear materials, is generally handled by separate agencies than civilian safety, for various reasons, including secrecy.
SAGE read more on ” SAFE GIRLS” and please go ahead and get yourself informed about the “conflict of interst” these are terms where are lives revolves.
#35, what is happening to you, we are currently discussing about uranium deposits in Zed then you suddenly go to the malaysian issue!
We have to find good investors who would atleast pump something back in Zed’s economy & Ba #1 let that man sing songs of praises, its not up to him as to weather he will be given or denied that project, its up to our leaders and corruption levels!!
This Uranium thing, is it why Mr Clinton and madam Airforce 1 came to Zambia? Maybe, this may make sense now.
i have always writo that God’s bless are continuosly pouring on the land. and i have always said there is a natural process. the issues to talk about now are: empowement of the locals with a view of reducing poverty, promoting good corparate governance to hence sustanable development, promote envoromentally friendly legislatures to ensure safeguard of the motherland, above all esure that zambians are the best resource zambia has ever had.
Though we are hungry there is no point in extracting things we cannot hanle in the future,lets thing about the consiquences this substance is going to cause if a natural disaster were to occur, are we going to handle the extent of the pollution? I dont know ,’food for thought’
My name is KC and i am originally from Malawi
I am an AFR shareholder
Mining has come a long way from the stone ages
They will be using acid heap leach technology
It is safe, simple, proven technology.
Zambians need to embrace change and embrace the future. So instead of criticising AFR/Cooke for getting there first, maybe u need to look at the advantages associated with this miner instead of going around in circles repeating the same old negatives – which are neither justified or researched.
The positives;
There will be a central processing plant at Njame
The other deposits will operate via satelite open pits
This means minimal environmental impact
The directors are repsonsible for developping the worlds largest uranium deposit (Olympic dam in Australia). They have experience
The mines will provide jobs (and already have) – they have hired local accountants, local drillers etc
The company has already drafted a program that will give back to the community-
(1) Commitments to malaria roll back programme, AIDS/HIV Education
(2) Local business development programmes
The way i see it is, the uranium is in the ground, and at some point it will be extracted whether we like it or not
So wouldn’t you rather a company such as Cooke’s which is experienced and one which is committed to giving back so much to the community.
At least as shareholders, we can profit from the growth of this company as it proceeds to production. They are still at the early stages and about 2 years away from producing their first uranium.
Do you want to be apart of it and profit from the change? or do u want to be the one that kept pressing for a change that never came… the choice seems obvious to me. And it’s a choice i made a long time ago.