Kampumba Manganese (Chiman) - Zambian Copperbelt (sitios de interés)

AREA

 

RESOURCE BASE 
4Mt at 50% Manganese

 

HISTORY

Produced 2.69Mt at 51.5% Mn between 1955 and 1968

Gypsym Industries Ltd

 

CHIMAN Manufacturing Company - CMC of Kabwe has asked squatters encroaching on its manganese mining land in Kampumba area to move out failure to which the company will use force. CMC sales manager Tina Cui said in an interview in Kabwe yesterday that a Mr Andrew Mazimba and his workers had encroached on their designated land and were engaging in illegal mining. “We have sought legal redress through court orders asking this Mr Mazimba to vacate our premises and stop carrying out illegal mining activities on our land. He is occupying about 400,000 square metres of our mine land illegally,” Ms Tina said.She said her company came to Zambia to do business and she was saddened that Mr Mazimba wanted to disturb the company operations by illegally occupying the mine land. The company has invested about US$5 million in its manganese plant. The firm, which resumed production in February this year, plans to increase investment to a total of $8 million in its operations in the once-famous mining town. “It is sad that we are being treated in this manner even when we have a court redress and a mining licence. I am therefore appealing to the Zambian Government to assist us persuade these people to move failure to which we shall be forced to use force,” Ms Tina said. The company produces about 15 tonnes of manganese everyday for export to South Africa based on demand.
 

“Our intended investment is U$8 million but we have so far put in U$5 million in our operations. We are getting our raw materials from our Kampumba mine which is 83 kilometres from our processing plant,” she said. It was hoped that the company would increase the workforce from the current 100, once expansion works were completed. It was still struggling to settle down as Zambia lacked the market for manganese metals. It was hoped that once the Kafue Steel Plant became operational, a local market for manganese would be found. The firm also has no intention to pollute townships surrounding its processing plant and that was why it has procured filter elements to deal with the problem. CMC has been in existence for about five years and only commenced production late last year.
Http://www.times.co.zm/sundaytimes/media/news/viewnews.cgi?category=11&id=1216542418

 

GEOLOGY

Several occurrences of graphite and manganese are reported from the project area, notably the Kampumba manganese mine in the northeast of the licence. The manganese orebodies occur over a distance of 2.5 km along the top of the Kampumba Hills, and form a residual capping over strongly folded manganiferous dolomites, intercalated with schists, gneisses and quartzites. The manganese (Mn) content of the wad ores varies from 38% to 61% Mn, with up to 69% iron (Fe).