Tue, 27 Jun 2017 13:40:54 +0000
By KELVIN SIABANA
KONKOLA Copper Mine plc (KCM) has called on its industry peers and development partners to join hands and pool resources to scale up development on the Copperbelt.
The call has been made by KCM chief executive officer Steven Din.
Mr Din was speaking during a panel discussion on the theme “Towards Developing the country mining vision – mainstreaming Zambia’s mineral resources for greater economic development’’ at the just needed 7th Annual Zambia International Mining and Energy conference and exhibition (ZIMEC 2017).
He said around 70 percent of Zambia’s export earnings currently depended on copper mining while over 90 percent of electricity was generated from water.
Mr Din said Zambia’s economic sustainability in those challenging times, lay in diversifying from copper and hydro and attracting the necessary investments to strengthen and stabilise the mining sector and increase electricity capacity through alternative sources of renewable energy.
“Only in industrial partnership can we realize the sort of scale required to build a vibrant and diversified economic hub in the Copperbelt, I think there’s much we can gain from working together in this effort,” Mr Din said.
Mr Din said the was great merit in convening a Copperbelt Initiative to pool resources with the specific aim of creating jobs and scaling up development in the Southern African region.
Mr Din also shared KCM’s 50-year vision for growing business in the Copperbelt. The vision extends well beyond mining, to agriculture, tourism, logistics and trade.
He shared KCM’s commitment to creating more benefits and wealth for the people living in the region.
“We want to see the Copperbelt grow into a diversified and resilient economic hub a hub that can sustain livelihoods even when copper prices are low because thriving mining community provides us with a competitive edge, enabling us to thrive also,” he said.
In the recent past, KCM has launched several initiatives aimed at supporting the growth of industries and the creation of sustainable livelihoods around Chingola.
He said among the projects KCM has launched is Copperbelt Leather Industry Cluster (CLIC), through which the mining is sponsoring the growth of a sustainable leather industry in the Southern African region by supplying entrepreneurs with access to materials, training and market linkages.
Mr Din said some other examples include the livestock programme, through which nearly 800 cattle and 3,000 goats have been given to communities over the past five years.
