HANDLE GOLD DISCOVERY CAREFULLY, STATE ADVISED

GOVERNMENT must handle the gold discovery in Mwinilunga with caution as it has potential to plunge the country in pandemonium, a mining expert Edward Simukonda has advised.

Mr Simukonda, who is also Daled Mine imited owner, said gold was classified as a conflict mineral in the reat a es Region, therefore, it could similarly cause conflicts in this country as criminals from other countries invade Zambia. He said many countries in Africa were experiencing wars because of unscrupulous people who want to access the precious mineral. He advised overnment to ensure that security measures were enhanced in areas where the mineral has been found to stop criminals from exploiting the situation. Mr Simu onda observed that conflict minerals were not easy to sell and when they did sell, never fetched the true value. The Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development, should put in place a system that would be able to trace gold at the point of sale if the country has to earn meaningful revenue from it. “ want overnment to note that, gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten, are classified as conflict minerals in the reat a es Region. This means that Zambia must handle the discovery of gold in North Western Province with absolute caution and with the seriousness it deserves,” he said. “Conflict minerals are not easy to sell and when sold never get the true value. The ministry of mines should work closely with the nternational Conference of reat Lakes Region to devise the best system to trace the gold being mined to the point of sale,” Mr Simukonda said. Mines and Mineral Development Permanent Secretary, Paul Chanda, disclosed in an interview recently that the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) had bought a gold processing plant for the country to focus on gold mining as a way of improving the country’s ross Domestic Product DP and putting the economy on a firm path to recovery Mr Chanda said overnment had realised the need to focus on gold as it would help the country to earn more revenue and improve its DP He said the newly procured gold processing plant would be installed in Rufunsa District of Lusaka Province. Mr Chanda said ZCCM-IH would start buying gold from the small scale miners across the country and add value to the commodity before exporting it. He said focusing on gold mining was the right way to go, adding that there was need to promote this because gold was a lucrative mineral.