Investors from the United Kingdom Copper Tree are set to develop a copper processing plant at the famous Uchi dump site in Kitwe on the Copperbelt.
Kitwe District Commissioner Binwell Mpundu told ZNBC news in Kitwe
that Copper Tree has discovered valuable minerals at the Uchi dump site and that the construction of a copper processing Plant will start in July this year.
Mr. Mpundu says the company will start recalling and processing minerals at the Uchi dump site which has since been closed and fenced off.
He further disclosed that the old copper processing techniques used by mining firms in Kitwe then, left very valuable mineral deposits in all the dumping sites dotted in the city including Uchi.
Mr. Mpundu added that the construction of the Copper processing plant is a plus for the city as it will boost job creation apart from stimulating economic activities in the area.
Meanwhile, the Mine workers Union of Zambia -MUZ- President Joseph Chewe has welcomed the construction of a copper processing plant saying it is an answer to the value addition government has been calling for.
But a Copperbelt University business Expert Professor Biemba Maliti has urged Copper Tree to consider opening up an open pit mine at the Uchi dump site instead of a Copper processing plant to protect the environment.
The Uchi dump site is said to possess huge deposits of Cobalt and Copper.
Has zema characters approved this project
Kitwe the land of riches and opportunities
Black mountain pambafu
Where is Uchi dumpsite? I thought Kitwe had only that one dumpsite along the Ndola road?
Uchi dump is a tailings dump, it is on your right side when you are leaving Kitwe before 6 feet bridge. It is actually opposite the famous black mountain, across the dual carriage way, between Nkana east and Ndeke village. It is believed that a lot of Cobalt was buried there since cobalt was considered as a waste product from Copper. Just a few years back some Jerabos pick up cobalt sheets from the same area.
@Wishard on my right when I leave Kitwe should be Nkana West not Nkana East. U sure?
Very laughable from CBU. What open pit. This is a DUMP SITE AND NOT AN ORE DEPOSIT!
An ore provides you with minerals, and minerals gives you metals. That is the sequence.
What will mostly happen is reclamation of the dump site to a processing plant.
Cheap investors who don’t want to use capital for genuine production.They will only create few job.That should have been taken by local Zambians or cooperatives or local community
@Adedos, you don’t know anything about mineral extraction. Do you know about the Tailings Leach Plant (TLP) at Nchanga mine? If you did you wouldn’t make such an ignorant statement. Reclaiming tails is not that simple as you need to have extraction technology and you need to build a profitable plant. You are probably mistaking the black mountain to the Uchi tailings dam.
@Adedo exactly my thought. I wonder where the name ‘uchi ‘ sprang from instead of the more fondly ‘malabo’ (as in ma rabish) the very genesis of gerabo. It has a place in the countrys destiny and like ‘black mountain’ should ve befitingly gone to the locals
@Chabala, I don,t know how old you are but the name Uchi has been there from as far back as the 60s. The tailings dam on the other side of Nkana East is called Kitwe Tailings Dam.
Habeenzu can you educate us on the naming of this place as Uchi? And why is the township after the hospital called Buchi? Any relationship here?
Young man it’s not only Kiwe which was affected by poor mineral extraction methods. It’s the entire copperbelt if not the whole country. KCM for a long time got its copper and other metals from such dumps.
What’s Professor Maliti talking about?
If this place confuses so many and is unknown to many people how come LT is calling it ‘famous’?
You can see as you walk from Ndeke Ntwange diagonally to Nkana East.
Comment:
Have been working in the mining industry for number of years including bwana mkubwa mine in ndola i never seen reclaiming tailing dump using open pit method becouse this is waste material remaining with small particals of copper from copper concentrate its a waste materials from concentrater unlike slug dump known as black mountain this are waste
materials from melting process so for tailing materials its a electrol (extraction method)