EXPLOIT GOLD HARMONIOUSLY

PUBLIC discourse in Zambia has lately been awash with gold and manganese mining, taking both negative and positive aspersions. In the positive light, Government and other interest groups have been expounding the high value and much-needed development, which can be derived from gold mining and exports. Mines and Minerals Development Minister, Richard Musukwa, and many other Government officials have emphasised the seriousness with which Government is handling the matter. This includes the policy to have cooperatives of small- scale miners formed so that the resource is exploited in a well-structured manner. Government has also been encouraging Zambians to form joint ventures with financially-sound firms that can bring in sustainable capital. On part of Government, a step has been taken through ZCCM-IH, which has entered into a joint venture through its subsidiary Consolidated Gold Company Zambia (CGCZ), with Array Metals to process gold ore in Mumbwa. In this partnership, an initial investment of about $2.5 million will be invested in the first stage to go towards setting up of a gold wash plant and other mining machinery to mine and process placer gold raw material. Further, CGCZ will hold a 65 per cent stake while Array Metals Zambia will have 35 per cent in the project, with an initial phase to produce about three tonnes of gold worth $150 million. In this formation, CGCZ is a gold processing and trading joint venture with Karma Mining Services and Rural Development at 55 per cent and ZCCM-IH 45 at per cent. Now, this is what has raised ire among some stakeholders including political parties; the matter needs to be resolved sooner than later to erase any suspicions. Government and ZCCM-IH must go all out to explain this matter so that all stakeholders can move on. Surprisingly, gold in Zambia was discovered many years ago, yet the hullabaloo is just erupting now. This was sparked when residents in Mwinilunga swarmed the area near Kasenseli River after it was discovered that the place had rich deposits. In fact, gold deposits are in Mwembeshi area, Mumbwa, Kapiri Mposhi – Kipushi zone, Rufunsa, Mkushi and some areas in Eastern Province. Zambians should fully exploit the precious metal now instead of raising the dust when a foreign firm moves in to start mining. Therefore, Zambians must hold together and seek to exploit the resource instead of throwing mud at each other. Gold price per gram is now fetching $54.84, which translates into $54,836.31 per kilogramme and therefore it is highly lucrative. Gold is indeed useful precious mineral. Among other uses, gold is used in the manufacturing of electronic devices because it has excellent conductive properties and resists corrosion, making it a reliable mode of transmitting tiny electrical currents that modern electronic devices us From smartphones, calculators and GPS units, to larger appliances like televisions, gold plays a part in production, usually within printed circuit boards. One standard laptop Gold is the most malleable metal as only one gramme of the precious metal can be hammered into a sheet that covers a square metre. Malleability is a measure of how easily an object can be pressed into a shape, usually thin sheets. It is said that gold is so malleable that it can be beaten into a transparent sheets, which are used in gilding ornaments, lettering, and creating edgings on ceramics, glass, paper and textiles. Therefore, citizens must get into action and refrain from participating in ‘talk-shows.’