The exploration of diamond deposits at Kasenje Hills and gold deposits in Muyombe areas of Mafinga District in Muchinga Province has begun. Mafinga Council Chairperson Duncan Kaonga said in an interview that the move has been necessitated by the indication that the area was endowed with mineral resources.
Mr. Kaonga said in an interview yesterday that there were a number of explorations, of which one was being done by, among others, a company owned by a Zambian. He prayed that the exploration would turn into the actual mining of the mineral resources to allow the district’s revenue base to widen.
Mr. Kaonga said that the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development was also expected to come in and offer expertise direction to ensure the benefit was felt by the government.
“Mafinga mining potential is huge as we have diamond deposits in Kasenje Hills and gold deposits in Muyombe, which cannot be overemphasized, and at the moment, they are doing mining explorations, and results are indicating that indeed the district is endowed with mineral resources. There are quite a number of companies doing the exploration, there is a company owned by a Zambian who came to our office and has been doing the explorations, but we hope that these will be able to materialize,” Mr. Kaonga said.
He also hoped the undertaking would not be left in the hands of foreigners but rather in a partnership with local investors for the country to benefit from the mineral.
“We are looking at a situation in which we can have local partners whose investment can guarantee the development of these villages where the mining will be taking place,” he said.
