Podcasts about copperbelt

Coupe du monde et présence chinoise en Afrique au sommaire de ces 50 minutes. La Coupe du monde de football pour commencer. Au Mexique, Canada, États-Unis, les matches s'enchainent. Finale le 19 juillet. Chaque pays vibre à son heure. Cette semaine France/Sénégal. Score 3-1 pour la France avec un doublé de Mbappé. Sur le sol français, un moment fort... En seconde partie d'émission, Igor Strauss nous transportera en Zambie, un des pays africains toutes proportions gardées qui connait une des plus fortes présences, voire une des plus fortes pressions chinoises. L'emprise se fait notamment par les mines et nous reviendrons également sur la catastrophe de Sino-Metals...  France-Sénégal : une histoire de binationalité Parmi les 1 248 footballeurs sélectionnés, 75 sont nés en France, mais représentent une autre nation. À elle seule, la sélection du Sénégal compte 10 joueurs dont le cœur et surtout le passeport auraient pu valoir un appel pour défendre le maillot Bleu et son Coq. 24 ans après la victoire des Lions de la Teranga au Mondial 2002, le Sénégal et la  France se retrouvent ce soir dans le New Jersey. Une rencontre qui dépasse le sport entre deux pays, toujours liés depuis la colonisation… Ce qui rend difficile le choix pour certains supporters. Un Grand reportage de Babacar Diarra qui s'entretient avec Jacques Allix. Zambie : dans la Copperbelt, des minerais et des larmes Frontalière de la République démocratique du Congo, la province de la Copperbelt, en Zambie, possède d'immenses réserves de cuivre et d'autres minerais essentiels pour la transition énergétique. Une région stratégique pour toutes les grandes puissances mondiales qui souhaitent accaparer ces minerais, utilisés notamment pour la construction des batteries électriques. Un Grand reportage de Igor Strauss (en compagnie de Yang Mei) qui s'entretient avec Jacques Allix.

Frontalière de la RDC, la province de la Copperbelt, en Zambie possède d'immense réserves de cuivre et d'autres minerais essentiels pour la transition énergétique. Une région stratégique pour toutes les grandes puissances mondiales qui souhaitent s'accaparer ces minerais utilisés notamment pour la construction des batteries électriques.  Dans cette course effrénée, la Chine a plusieurs longueurs d'avance sur ses concurrents et a fait main basse sur une grande partie des ressources du pays en accords avec les différents gouvernements zambiens. Mais l'exploitation de ces mines n'est pas sans danger. Le 18 février 2025, la Zambie a été frappée par l'une des pires catastrophes écologiques de son histoire. La rupture partielle du barrage d'une mine de cuivre appartenant à l'entreprise chinoise Sino Metals a libéré au moins 50 millions de litres de déchets toxiques dans l'environnement et provoqué de terribles dégâts pour les populations locales. Les autorités zambiennes et Sino Metals ont tout fait pour minimiser ce drame. Un an et demi après, quelle est la situation ? Retour sur un scandale d'État.   Au départ de Kitwé, petite cité minière de la Copperbelt, il faut une grosse demi-heure pour rejoindre Chambishi, la localité touchée par la rupture du barrage de Sino Metals, filiale de la société d'État China Nonferrous Metals Industry Group. Sur la route, les nombreux terrils qui déforment les paysages sont les vestiges d'une extraction minière qui bat son plein depuis tant d'années. Autre particularité observée depuis la fenêtre de notre véhicule, l'omniprésence de panneaux écrit en chinois. Dans la Copperbelt, comme dans le reste du pays, Hôtels, sociétés en tout genre, zones industrielles, casinos, tout appartient aux Chinois, symbole de leur influence grandissante en Zambie. Arrivé à Chambishi, il faut emprunter un petit chemin de terre pour s'approcher de la mine.   Dans cette zone autrefois recouverte de champs de maïs, c'est un paysage de désolation. Plus de trace de végétation, la terre est morte, brûlée par les millions de litres d'acide qui s'y sont déversés à la suite de la catastrophe. Des ouvriers zambiens, employés par Sino Metals, répandent de la chaux sur le sol pour réduire la pollution. Nous les dépassons. Nous avons rendez-vous 400 mètres plus loin, chez un agriculteur d'une soixantaine d'années, vivant au milieu de ce chaos. Il a tout perdu lors de la rupture du barrage. Mais lorsque nous arrivons enfin à destination, tout ne se passe pas comme prévu. Nous sommes 4 à sortir du véhicule. Vladimir Chilinya, directeur de l'ONG FIAN International en Zambie, qui se bat contre les pratiques injustes et oppressives qui empêchent les communautés de se nourrir. Félix Chipoya, directeur de l'Alliance territoriale du district de Kitwe, une ONG qui travaille sur le droit à la terre des populations de la Copperbelt ; ma collègue Yang Mei du service environnement de RFI et moi-même. Nous n'avons pas le temps de saluer l'agriculteur que nous souhaitions interviewer. Des agents de sécurité de Sino Metals nous en empêchent. D'abord courtois, les échanges s'enveniment avec l'arrivée du directeur de sécurité de la compagnie chinoise. Nous sommes arrêtés, au motif que nous sommes sur une propriété privée, et conduit au commissariat le plus proche. Nos passeports sont confisqués. Nous subissons interrogatoires et tentatives d'intimidations par les agents de Sino Metals eux-mêmes avec la complicité de la police zambienne. Encore un indice de l'influence chinoise. La mascarade dure 2 jours. Il faudra l'intervention d'un avocat zambien pour que nous récupérions nos passeports et notre liberté de mouvement sans qu'aucune charge ne soit retenue contre nous.  Un drame resté dans les mémoires  Ne pouvant pas faire témoigner les victimes sur les lieux du drame, nous les faisons venir dans un lieu sûr, à l'abri des regards. Tous se souviennent avec émotion de ce 18 février 2025. Voici leurs témoignages volontairement anonymes :  « C'était un midi. J'étais dans mes champs. Le ciel était très clair et soudain j'ai entendu un bruit, comme si une forte pluie allait arriver. Mais ce n'était pas la pluie. C'était le son des boues libérées par la rupture du barrage de Sino Metals. Et les boues se sont répandues avec une force incroyable. C'était tellement puissant que même les épis de maïs d'un à deux mètres de haut ont été arrachés. Et tout de suite après, tout est devenu extrêmement sec, comme si un incendie avait tout ravagé. Quand je suis retourné dans mes champs, je n'entendais plus le moindre insecte. Il n'y avait plus du tout d'insectes. Et ensuite j'ai observé le ruisseau car mes champs sont collés à un ruisseau. Il y avait seulement des poissons morts. Des grenouilles mortes. Il n'y avait plus aucune forme de vie dans le ruisseau. Il était donc clair qu'il y avait eu de gros dégâts sur l'environnement. »  Autre témoin : « Je n'étais pas dans mes champs ce jour-là, mais on m'a averti au téléphone. Alors j'ai couru avec d'autres agricultrices pour voir l'état de nos champs. Et comme on ne savait pas ce qui s'était passé, on a marché dans ces boues qui étaient pleines d'acides. Nos chaussures ont fondu et on a été brûlé aux jambes. Tous nos champs étaient détruits, plein d'acide. On ne pouvait plus rien en tirer. C'était terrible car ces champs sont nos seuls revenus. Ils nous permettaient d'envoyer nos enfants à l'école. »       Malgré l'ampleur du désastre, Sino Metals et l'État zambien tentent de minimiser les faits. Le rapport d'une société sud-africaine, Drizit, qui affirme que la pollution est beaucoup plus importante que celle déclarée par la société chinoise, est jeté aux oubliettes au profit d'un autre rapport, plus clément, effectué par les autorités zambiennes. Et alors que la pollution a touché tous les cours d'eau environnants et s'est infiltrée dans les nappes phréatiques, un haut responsable zambien vient boire un verre d'eau devant les caméras, assurant qu'elle est potable. À Lusaka, la capitale zambienne, nous rencontrons le Dr Titus Haakondé de l'Université de Zambie. Il est toxicologue, président de l'Institut zambien de la santé environnementale. Il nous rappelle en préambule qu'on ne peut pas parler d'exploitation minière sans parler de pollution et nous parle de 4 autres accidents dans des mines pour la seule année 2016. Puis il s'épanche sur le cas Sino Metals :   « Quand on lit le rapport fait par le gouvernement sur les métaux lourds qui ont été lâchés dans l'environnement et la rivière Kafoué, on s'aperçoit qu'il y en a cinq principalement : du cobalt, du manganèse, du chrome, du cuivre évidemment, du zinc et une petite quantité de plomb. Et ce qui est intéressant d'un point de vue toxicologique, c'est que quand un individu est exposé à de petites concentrations de ces métaux sur une longue période, son corps n'a pas les capacités d'éliminer ces métaux. Donc ils se renforcent dans le corps, c'est ce qu'on appelle la bio-accumulation. Ces métaux s'accumulent dans notre organisme jusqu'à un certain niveau. Et une fois ce niveau atteint, ils provoquent des maladies. Par exemple, une exposition au manganèse sur une longue période provoque un ralentissement du développement du cerveau chez les enfants. Il a aussi des effets sur la reproduction avec des risques d'infertilité. Et en cas de grossesse, le risque d'avoir un enfant prématuré est élevé. Ça c'est pour le manganèse. Le plomb a des effets similaires : déficience mentale, problème de développement osseux chez les enfants. Et quand les os ne se développent pas, ils sont fragiles, ce qui entraîne d'autres complications par la suite. Il y a donc un grand nombre de problèmes de santé qui résultent de cette exposition aux métaux lourds. »  L'institut zambien de la santé environnementale fait donc du plaidoyer pour limiter ces expositions. Pour cela, il est impératif de s'assurer que les compagnies minières respectent toutes les normes quand elles fabriquent les barrages à résidus miniers et quand elles rejettent des eaux usées dans l'environnement. Il faut également un bon système de contrôle des barrages pour être sûrs que tous les polluants sont bien retenus et ne se retrouvent pas dans la nature. Or, selon plusieurs témoins rencontrés dans la Copperbelt, ces contrôles n'ont pas eu lieu. Pour justifier la catastrophe, Sino Metals a mis en avant de fortes pluies, soi-disant inhabituelles pour la saison, qui auraient provoqué la rupture du barrage. Mais un témoin nous a livré une autre grille de lecture :   « La présence des Chinois dans la Copperbelt est associée à ce qu'on pourrait appeler une institutionnalisation de la corruption. Ils se sont littéralement emparés de tous les ministères du gouvernement, jusqu'à un point où leur influence ne peut plus être remise en question. Quand une institution est corrompue, elle devient incapable de faire son travail. La rupture du barrage de Sino Metals par exemple. La question, c'est combien de fois ce barrage a-t-il été contrôlé par les instances gouvernementales sensées le faire ? Et on découvre ensuite qu'apparemment, personne n'est venu jusqu'ici faire le moindre contrôle. »    L'épineuse question du dédommagement  Sino Metals fournit de l'eau potable à certaines familles et en a dédommagé d'autres financièrement pour la perte de leurs récoltes. Mais toutes ces terres polluées ne peuvent plus être cultivées. Des centaines de familles se retrouvent donc sans terre et sans revenus, avec la détresse pour seule compagnie. Une victime nous confie :  « J'ai été très affecté, je ne faisais que pleurer en répétant : Mais qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ? Je pensais que c'était la fin de ma vie. Et aujourd'hui encore, je pleure toujours. Les compensations sont vraiment très minimes. Sino Metals me fournit de l'eau 3 fois par semaine. C'est tout. Mais moi je veux qu'ils me dédommagent. Qu'ils me donnent suffisamment d'argent pour que je puisse aller m'installer ailleurs. Je ne peux pas rester ici. Toute la zone est polluée. »   Un autre témoin raconte : « Sino Metals nous a donné 78 000 Kwatcha, environ 3 800 euros, ce qui est très inférieur à ce que nous attendions, étant donné la surface des champs que nous avons perdus. C'est pour cela que nous sommes dévastés. Nous ne savons pas où aller et nous n'avons plus de terre à cultiver. Et sans terre, notre avenir est très sombre ! «    À cette détresse, s'ajoute un terrible sentiment d'injustice :  « Nous souffrons et pendant ce temps-là, ceux qui exploitent nos minerais sont contents. Ils s'enrichissent en exploitant nos ressources mais nous les Zambiens, les propriétaires de cette terre, nous souffrons sans pouvoir nous projeter dans le futur. »   Mais comment expliquer que des Zambiens installés sur un lopin terre depuis des décennies, et dont ils s'imaginaient propriétaires, se retrouvent expropriés et considérés comme des squatteurs ? Pour répondre à cette question, il faut remonter le temps et faire un peu d'histoire. Sous Kenneth Kaunda, 1er président de la Zambie, resté au pouvoir pendant 27 ans entre 1964 et 1991, les Zambiens pouvaient s'installer sur les terres inoccupées pour y vivre, faire leurs champs et devenir de facto propriétaires des lieux. Puis dans les années 1990, avec l'avènement du multipartisme et du système capitaliste, ces terres inoccupées sont devenues des biens de valeurs et donc commercialisables. Enfin, la loi foncière de 1995 change totalement la donne. Elle stipule que sans acte de propriété, toute personne y vivant sera désormais considérée comme un squatteur. Des milliers de Zambiens, sans papier officiel, se retrouvent vulnérables, menacés d'être délogés au nom du développement économique. Directeur de l'Alliance territoriale du district de Kitwe, une ONG qui travaille sur le droit à la terre des populations de la Copperbelt, Félix Chipoya nous reçoit dans son bureau décati, en plein centre de Kitwé :   « Le désastre qui a eu lieu avec Sino Metals a affecté plus de 1 400 personnes qui vivaient là. Donc la compagnie doit leur trouver des terres pour que ces habitants puissent continuer à vivre. Parce que sans terre, où est-ce qu'ils vont aller ? C'est un vrai problème. Une compagnie donne du travail à 500 personnes mais elle en déplace 1 500. Pour moi, ce n'est pas du développement. Qu'importe qu'ils aient un papier ou non, ils vivent sur ces terres depuis toujours donc ils doivent être considérés comme les propriétaires de cette terre et recevoir des dédommagements. Sinon ils vont sombrer dans la pauvreté alors qu'ils sont déjà pauvres. On parle de démocratie, du peuple, par le peuple et pour le peuple, donc ce développement doit être équilibré entre le peuple et les investisseurs étrangers. Car le développement c'est de permettre au peuple de gagner sa vie. »   Face à ce qui est considéré comme un drame humain et environnemental, il existe peu de recours pour les populations concernées. En Zambie, il n'est pas possible d'attaquer en justice les grandes compagnies minières. Seule solution, se saisir d'un tribunal arbitral qui tranchera le litige entre les 2 parties. Vladimir Chilinya est le directeur de l'ONG FIAN International en Zambie qui se bat contre les pratiques injustes et oppressives qui empêchent les communautés de se nourrir.  « C'est très injuste pour les communautés qui sont affectées. Car les arbitrages sont difficiles à obtenir, ils sont très chers, et la plupart des arbitres se trouvent dans les grandes villes. Donc si un incident se produit en dehors de Lusaka ou d'une grande ville où il n'y a pas d'arbitres, le plaignant va devoir payer le coût du transport pour rencontrer un arbitre qui coûte également très cher, ce qui réduit la possibilité pour ces gens d'avoir recours à la justice. Et il n'est pas normal que les gens soient si pauvres dans un pays qui possède tant de ressources. Juste à côté de Lusaka, et il n'y pas besoin d'aller très loin, vous pouvez voir dans quelle pauvreté vivent les gens. Sans accès à l'eau potable, dans des conditions sanitaires déplorables, sans la moindre route digne de ce nom. Dans un pays aussi riche, il revient au gouvernement de faire profiter les Zambiens de ces ressources et pas uniquement les investisseurs étrangers. Il faut que l'État zambien agisse en ce sens. »  C'est tout le paradoxe de la Zambie. Un État qui possède d'immenses richesses avec ses réserves de cuivre et ses minerais très convoités mais qui s'est déclaré en faillite en 2020, avec une dette extérieure évaluée à plus de 10 milliards de dollars. Élu en 2021, le président, Hakainde Hichilema est candidat à sa propre succession lors de la prochaine élection présidentielles d'août 2026. Son programme économique est connu : tripler la production de cuivre du pays avec l'aide de la Chine. Une manne financière pour l'État qui pourrait être un fardeau pour les populations de la Copperbelt.  

MSE host Bill Powers interviews Midnight Sun Mining VP Adrian O'Brien for an update on the company's Dumbwa copper discovery in Zambia's Copperbelt. O'Brien shares how the company has now defined continuous copper mineralization over 5.3km of strike. He explains the release of assays from 99 drill holes after lab delays and QA/QC issues, saying results confirm continuity, scale, and a clear geological analog to Barrick's neighboring Lumwana mine, with variable grades consistent with a bulk-tonnage system. He discusses the 20-km copper-in-soil anomaly, methodical fence-line drilling (four rigs, ~10,000 m/month, ~$160/m), expansion drilling to better discover and define the mineralization, and ongoing work toward completing the fully funded first 11 km of strike by end of Q3. The conversation also covers analyst reports, pending assays sent to Intertek, and plans to monetize the Kazhiba near-surface oxide resource (2.33 Mt at 1.41% Cu) to fund Dumbwa non-dilutively, plus general risk disclaimers about mining stocks. 00:00 Intro 00:49 Big Assay Release 02:35 Copperbelt Context 03:28 Market Reaction and Grade 08:06 Scale and Drill Plan 09:09 Funding and MRE Timing 10:25 Copper Clearings Explained 13:24 Analyst Coverage Takeaways 15:21 Kazhiba Oxide Monetization 16:52 Assay Lab QAQC Fix 19:18 Data Transparency and Next Steps 21:15 Expansion Drilling Adjustments https://midnightsunmining.com/ TSXV:MMA OTCQX:MDNGF Haywood Analyst Report (May 2026) SCP Capital Analyst Report (May 2026) Sign up for our free newsletter and receive interview transcripts, stock profiles and investment ideas: http://eepurl.com/cHxJ39 Sponsor Midnight Sun Mining pays MSE a United States dollar ten thousand per month coverage fee. The forward-looking statement disclaimer found in Midnight Sun's most-recent company slide deck found at www.MidnightSunMining.com applies to everything discussed in this interview. Bill Powers will not buy any MMA.v shares until five trading days after MSE's initial interview. Mining Stock Education (MSE) offers informational content based on available data but it does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. It may not be appropriate for all situations or objectives. Readers and listeners should seek professional advice, make independent investigations and assessments before investing. MSE does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of its content and should not be solely relied upon for investment decisions. MSE and its owner may hold financial interests in the companies discussed and can trade such securities without notice. If you buy shares of any company featured on MSE, you should, for your own protection, assume MSE's owner is personally selling you those shares. MSE is biased towards its advertising sponsors which make this platform possible. MSE is not liable for representations, warranties, or omissions in its content. By accessing MSE content, users agree that MSE and its affiliates bear no liability related to the information provided or the investment decisions you make. Full disclaimer: https://www.miningstockeducation.com/disclaimer/

La fermeture du détroit d'Ormuz pourrait avoir un impact « profond » sur le secteur minier. C'est Robert Friedland, le patron du groupe minier Ivanhoe, présent en Afrique et en Asie, qui le dit. Et pour cause, l'activité minière est très dépendante de l'approvisionnement en soufre, et plus précisément en acide sulfurique, un produit qui est utilisé lors du raffinage du cuivre, du nickel, ou encore du cobalt.  L'acide sulfurique est de plus en plus difficile à trouver, en raison d'abord de la guerre au Moyen-Orient qui a bloqué les exportations d'une région qui représente 40% du soufre et des produits sulfurés exportés dans le monde. Depuis mi-mars, plus aucune cargaison n'a pu sortir du Golfe persique, et plus de 510 000 tonnes sont aujourd'hui chargées à bord de navires qui attendent de pouvoir traverser le détroit, selon les données du cabinet Kpler. Une autre mauvaise nouvelle est venue compléter le tableau ces derniers jours : l'acide sulfurique chinois ne sera plus exporté, à compter du mois de mai, selon des sources non officielles rapportées par l'agence Bloomberg. Or, le pays est est le deuxième exportateur mondial La Chine préserve ses stocks La Chine est, comme d'autres pays, pénalisée par le blocage des flux du Moyen-Orient. Le pays a la chance de produire de l'acide sulfurique, non pas à partir du pétrole, mais à partir des opérations de raffinage du zinc et du cuivre. C'est donc cette production nationale que la Chine veut garder sur son sol, pour préserver au maximum ses stocks pendant la période des semis qui nécessite l'utilisation d'engrais fabriqués à base d'acide sulfurique. Cette mesure s'explique aussi par la hausse des prix localement – ils sont passés en moyenne de 161 dollars la tonne à 214 dollars la tonne au mois de mars selon CRU Group. La perte de ces volumes chinois devrait engendrer de fortes perturbations selon les experts de CRU, qui rappellent que les exportations chinoises avaient augmenté en 2025 pour combler un déficit structurel de l'offre. Le Chili, premier producteur mondial de cuivre, qui importe chaque année un million de tonnes d'acide sulfurique chinois, fera partie des pays les plus touchés par la mesure.  Peu de fournisseurs alternatifs Les fournisseurs alternatifs à la Chine et au Moyen-Orient sont peu nombreux : selon CRU Group, le Japon et la Corée du Sud pourraient tirer profit de la situation, tout comme quelques autres exportateurs en Europe. Mais dans tous les cas, cela ne compensera pas la baisse des exportations chinoises, si celle-ci dépasse les 2,5 millions de tonne, comme l'évoque le scénario envisagé par CRU Group pour cette année 2026. Les prochains mois s'annoncent donc tendus pour l'industrie minière et en particulier le secteur du cuivre qui est le plus demandeur : 20% de la production de métal rouge repose en effet sur un procédé utilisant la lixiviation acide. Au Chili, les prix ont augmenté de plus de 40% au cours du dernier mois, selon Argus Media.  Dans ce contexte tendu, le patron d'Ivanhoe Mines se félicite d'avoir pu produire plus de 110 000 tonnes d'acide sulfurique au premier trimestre en République démocratique du Congo, grâce à la fonderie de cuivre qui traite le minerai de Kamoa-Kakula. Cet acide sulfurique est vendu aux exploitations minières de cuivre oxydé de la Copperbelt en RDC.

With Southern Africa sourcing over 90pc of its sulphur from the region, the Copperbelt's copper and cobalt producers are facing halted shipments, refinery shutdowns, and rapidly rising costs. In this episode, noble alloys reporter Roxana Lazar is joined by sulphur and sulphuric acid reporter Fenella Rhodes; senior copper reporter Raghav Jain; and battery materials reporter Chris Welch. The panel explore how these supply-chain shocks are shaping production in the DRC and Zambia, and how far the consequences could spread across global metals markets. Topics covered: The collapse in Middle East sulphur deliveries and its impact on leaching Tightened global sulphur supply including the stalled gulf cargoes The impact on cobalt exports, slowed by quota delays and shipping disruption Whether the conflict is a temporary bottleneck or a structural vulnerability for the Copperbelt

This week's episode features Grant Sporre, Global Head of Metals and Mining at Bloomberg Intelligence, in conversation with host Adrian Pocobelli on the copper market and the potential impact of sulphur supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Sporre explains how constrained sulphur supplies could affect copper production, particularly in the DRC and Zambia's Copperbelt. He also discusses the pressure higher energy prices could place on copper producers, as well as the risk of weaker prices in the event of a global economic slowdown. All this and more with host Adrian Pocobelli. “Rattlesnake Railroad”, “Big Western Sky”, “Western Adventure” and “Battle on the Western Frontier” by Brett Van Donsel (⁠www.incompetech.com⁠). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License ⁠creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0⁠ Apple Podcasts:⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-northern-miner-podcast/id1099281201⁠ Spotify:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/78lyjMTRlRwZxQwz2fwQ4K⁠ YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@NorthernMiner⁠ Soundcloud:⁠ https://soundcloud.com/northern-miner

Midnight Sun Mining Corp Vice President Business Development Adrian O'Brien joined Steve Darling from Proactive to outline the company's latest progress at its Dumbwa Project in Zambia, where ongoing drilling continues to define what could become a significant large-scale copper discovery. O'Brien explained that the project has now moved firmly into the resource delineation phase following its initial discovery in August. To date, the company has completed 166 drill holes, establishing approximately four kilometres of strike length—an early indication of the scale of the mineralized system. The broader exploration target lies within a 20-kilometre copper-in-soil geochemical anomaly, which O'Brien described as one of the largest and highest-grade anomalies ever identified in Zambia. Rather than pursuing widely spaced step-out drilling, Midnight Sun is employing a systematic, tight-spacing drill strategy designed to build a detailed and reliable understanding of the deposit. This methodical approach is expected to support the development of a robust resource estimate and reduce geological uncertainty as the project advances. The company is currently targeting between 1 billion and 1.5 billion tonnes of mineralization within the first 12 kilometres of the anomaly, with this phase of drilling anticipated to be completed by the third quarter. This scale highlights the potential for Dumbwa to emerge as a major copper asset within Zambia's prolific Copperbelt region. O'Brien also emphasized the company's strong financial position, with approximately $35 million in treasury supporting an aggressive drill campaign of roughly 10,000 metres per month across five active rigs. This level of funding provides the flexibility to maintain momentum and accelerate exploration efforts. Beyond the technical progress, O'Brien pointed to increasing geopolitical interest in Zambia's copper sector, as global demand for critical minerals continues to rise. Heightened competition among major economies to secure stable copper supply chains could further elevate the strategic importance of the Dumbwa Project as it advances toward potential development. #proactiveinvestors #midnightsunminingcorp #tsxv #mma #otc #mdngf #mining #CopperExploration #ZambiaMining #KazhibaProject #OxideCopper #FirstQuantum #MineralExploration #Mining2025 #CobaltExploration #MiningUpdates #Copper #Zambia #Mining #Exploration #CriticalMinerals #CopperBelt #ResourceDevelopment #Drilling #Commodities #railines

"If we stop mining, we stop our way of life."The Lobito Corridor is more than just a railway; it is a strategic lifeline connecting the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola to the mineral rich Copperbelt in the DRC and Zambia. In this episode, host Claude Grunitzky sits down with explorer and presenter Dwayne Fields and Sam Williams, Head of Communications at Africell, to discuss the revival of this historic infrastructure. We explore why the U.S. government is mobilizing private capital to secure access to critical minerals like copper and rare earths, which are essential for the global economy. From Dwayne's personal genetic journey back to his ancestral roots in the Copperbelt to Africell's mission to digitize the corridor, this episode examines the intersection of high stakes geopolitics and the human stories of the communities on the ground. Can large scale mining truly benefit ordinary Africans? We look at the risks of exploitation and environmental damage versus the potential for jobs, connectivity, and local prosperity.Plus: why a telecommunications company is making a documentary

Canadian actor and playwright Natasha Mumba has described her debut play, Copperbelt, as an “African Succession.” It centres on the Kasubas, a wealthy Zambian mining family. After the family patriarch falls ill, he summons his adult children home to help run the business. But long-simmering tensions rise and relationships fracture, forcing the family to confront its legacy — and its future. Natasha sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey in the Q studio to tell us more about the play and why she wants to change how theatre tells African stories.

This week's episode features Adrian O'Brien, Vice President of Business Development & Communications at Midnight Sun Mining, in conversation with host Adrian Pocobelli on recent developments in Zambia's Copperbelt region. O'Brien outlines the advantages of mining in Zambia, contrasting its regulatory and security environment with the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also provides an overview of the key companies and projects operating in the region and discusses Barrick's prior interest in the company. All this and more with host Adrian Pocobelli. This week's Spotlight features Keith Weiner, founder and CEO of Monetary Metals, along with Chad Williams, Chairman of Honey Badger Silver, discussing Monetary Metals' new financial platform designed to provide yield to precious metals investors. To learn more, visit: https://www.monetary-metals.com/ “Rattlesnake Railroad”, “Big Western Sky”, “Western Adventure” and “Battle on the Western Frontier” by Brett Van Donsel (⁠www.incompetech.com⁠). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License ⁠creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0⁠ Apple Podcasts:⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-northern-miner-podcast/id1099281201⁠ Spotify:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/78lyjMTRlRwZxQwz2fwQ4K⁠ YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@NorthernMiner⁠ Soundcloud:⁠ https://soundcloud.com/northern-miner

Zambian visual artist, STARY MWABA, who grew up in the country's Copperbelt, discusses the enduring environmental and human cost of resource extraction in his home region. He details the history and current reality of the infamous Black Mountain in Kitwe - a century-old toxic slag heap - that is now a site of dangerous, informal mining and re-extraction. Stary explains his unique artistic technique, which literally perforates newspaper headlines to make space for the 'little narratives' of the exploited people and children whose suffering fuels the world's 'green' revolution.His signature method is creating a surface by collecting newspaper stories, stacking them on transparent baking paper' and then perforating the newsprint with minute holes. The idea came from an earlier installation in which he used vegetables and colour to demonstrate how plants absorb water and minerals - a critique of Chinese engagement.The physical act of 'removing words' and perforating the paper is to symbolically 'create space for the little stories' - the marginalised, human narratives. The work is 'painstaking' requiring intense concentration, which Stary describes as a form of 'therapy'.Stary paints from the reverse side of the perforated paper. He imposes the image so the paint literally 'seeps through the holes' and onto the front side, making the portrait a physical breakthrough of the headline.He displays the paintings by suspending them so that the viewer can 'see both sides of the story.'Follow Stary on instagram: starymwabaYou can see some of his works at the 37d Gallery, Lusaka#starymwaba#Zambianartist#copperbelt#coppermining#coblatmining#greenenergy#greeneconomy#evironmentaljustice#acidrain#pollution#zambia#kitwe#blackmountain#africanart#socialcommentary#artivism#untoldstories Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Small Cap Breaking News You Can't Miss!Here's a quick rundown of the latest updates from standout small-cap companies making big moves today.XTM – Non-Dilutive Fintech Funding Via RWA Tokenization (CSE: PAID) (OTCQB: XTMIF) (FSE: 7XT)XTM Inc., a North American earned wage access and instant pay fintech, has signed a binding LOI with AGORACOM RWA DBX to tokenize Preferred Shares in its U.S. subsidiary, XTM USA.Key points: • Structure targets non-dilutive capital, with no new common shares issued • XTM USA holds the core AnyDay™ IP and contracts, tied to 150,000+ daily wage earners projected in 2026 • AGORACOM RWA DBX gets a six-month exclusive mandate to design and coordinate the tokenization and listing strategy • Tokens will be backed by Preferred Shares in XTM USA, aiming to tap emerging RWA investors while XTM maintains full operating controlIf successful, this could become a model small-cap RWA financing structure, giving XTM new growth capital while protecting its cap table.Draganfly – Border Security Drone Gains Multi-Agency Attention (CSE: DPRO) (NASDAQ: DPRO) (FSE: 3U8A)Draganfly's Outrider™ Border Drone has completed live mission demos with the Cochise County Sheriff's Office along the U.S.–Mexico border, attracting interest from multiple U.S. law enforcement, federal and military agencies.Highlights: • Outrider is NDAA-compliant and North American–built, a key requirement for U.S. government programs • Heavy-duty profile with up to 100 lb payload and up to 7 hours of flight time • Demonstrated use cases included persistent surveillance, emergency response support, and air–ground coordination • Event generated multi-agency procurement interest, positioning Draganfly in the growing U.S. homeland security and public-safety drone marketThe Cochise County Drone Summit showcases Draganfly as a domestic, mission-ready drone supplier at a time of rising demand for compliant UAS solutions.Midnight Sun Mining – High-Grade Copper Over 1.5 km at Dumbwa (TSX-V: MMA) (OTCQX: MDNGF)Midnight Sun Mining is advancing a promising copper discovery at the Dumbwa target on its Solwezi Project in Zambia's Copperbelt. New results continue to build a picture of a sizeable, high-grade system.Key drill results and momentum: • 1.0% copper over 22 m (DBW-25-010) • 0.98% copper over 15 m and 0.79% copper over 5.25 m (DBW-25-009), plus supporting intervals • Nearly 1.5 km of mineralized strike now defined in a north–south corridor • 51 holes completed, 5 ongoing, and ~75 more holes planned (~15,000 m) to test a further 3 km of strike • Five rigs turning, with a sixth rig expected in early 2026, and drilling to continue through the rainy seasonLocated beside major producing operations in the Zambia–Congo Copperbelt, Dumbwa is shaping up as an emerging copper story with district-scale upside.Pacific Ridge – One of the Best Holes Yet at Kliyul Copper-Gold Project (TSX-V: PEX) (OTCQB: PEXZF) (FSE: PQW)Pacific Ridge Exploration has reported one of its strongest drill holes to date at the Kliyul Main Zone (KMZ) in north-central British Columbia, reinforcing both grade and scale potential at its flagship copper-gold project.2025 drill highlights: • Hole KLI-25-070: • 489.8 m of 0.56% CuEq (0.84 g/t AuEq) from near surface • Including 289.0 m of 0.77% CuEq (1.15 g/t AuEq) • With a higher-grade core of 85.0 m at 1.47% CuEq (2.19 g/t AuEq), including 37.5 m at 2.49% CuEq (3.72 g/t AuEq) • Hole KLI-25-071: • 421.0 m of 0.24% CuEq (0.35 g/t AuEq) • Including 91.0 m of 0.47% CuEq (0.70 g/t AuEq) • KMZ currently hosts an Inferred Resource of 334.1 Mt at 0.33% CuEq, and mineralization has now been extended 110 m to the west within the resource pit shellWith a 6 km underexplored mineralized trend and multiple additional targets to test, Kliyul is emerging as a large-scale copper-gold system in a premier Canadian mining jurisdiction.

The Zambian government has dismissed claims of dangerous pollution in the Copperbelt mining region, following safety concerns raised by the US embassy. On Wednesday, the US issued a health alert, ordering the immediate withdrawal of its personnel due to concerns of "widespread contamination of water and soil", linked to a spill at the Sino-Metals mine in February. Zambian journalist, Dingindaba Buyoya tells us about the uneasiness the statement by the USA is causing.Also, as Uganda hosts nearly two million displaced people. Can it cope with the rising numbers?And the impact of cocoa smuggling on prices for farmers, entrepreneurs and consumers. Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Bella Hassan, Yvette Twagiramariya and Stefania Okereke in London with Richard Kagoe and Jewel Kiriungi in Nairobi. Technical Producer: Gabriel O 'Regan Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard

Midnight Sun Mining Corp Director of Marketing and Communications Adrian O'Brien joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share updates with Proactive about the company's successful completion of its exploration program at the Kazhiba Target, part of its Solwezi Property in Zambia. The program incorporated a multi-faceted approach, including reverse circulation (RC) drilling, induced polarization (IP) surveying, and partial ionic leach sampling, all aimed at delineating oxide copper mineralization and identifying potential new targets. O'Brien reported that the company completed 2,005 metres of RC drilling across 54 holes at the Kazhiba Target. Although the total metres drilled were less than initially planned due to the shallower-than-expected depth to bedrock, the work followed a spatially constrained pattern specifically designed to form the basis of an oxide mineral resource estimate. Additionally, the company conducted a geochemical survey using partial ionic leach sampling, a highly sensitive proprietary method developed by ALS Chemex. This advanced technique is more effective than traditional methods in detecting base metal anomalies, particularly in areas covered by regolith or other obscuring materials. The geochemical 'fingerprint' generated over the known mineralized area at Kazhiba will aid in interpreting data from the rest of the license area, with the potential to identify new, similar targets. The program also included an induced polarization (IP) survey, which tested nearby anomalies for potential sulfide mineralization, further enhancing the exploration potential of the Kazhiba License. The combined data from drilling, geochemical sampling, and IP surveying positions the company to refine its understanding of the property and advance toward future resource estimation and development. Midnight Sun Mining remains optimistic about the results from Kazhiba, underscoring the significance of its Solwezi Property, located within Zambia's prolific Copperbelt region, as a promising asset in the search for high-grade copper mineralization. #proactiveinvestors #midnightsunminingcorp #tsxv #mma #otc #mdngf #mining #CopperExploration #ZambiaMining #KazhibaProject #OxideCopper #FirstQuantum #MineralExploration #Mining2025 #CobaltExploration #MiningUpdates

Midnight Sun Mining Corp Director of Marketing and Communications Adrian O'Brien joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share significant news with Proactive, announcing the signing of an earn-in agreement with KoBold Metals, facilitated through their respective Zambian subsidiaries, to explore the Dumbwa Target on Midnight Sun's Solwezi Project in Zambia. O'Brien explained that KoBold Metals, a US-based battery metal exploration and mining company, backed by notable technology investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures (initiated by Bill Gates) and Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, will have the opportunity to earn a 75% interest in Dumbwa by investing USD$15 million in exploration expenditures. The Dumbwa exploration target holds strategic importance, situated in the heart of the Zambia-Congo Copperbelt, and is one of four key prospects within Midnight Sun's 506-kilometer Solwezi Project. While KoBold Metals focuses on exploring Dumbwa, Midnight Sun plans to continue exploration on its other licenses, as well as the portions of the license where Dumbwa is located, not subject to the earn-in agreement. This partnership with KoBold Metals marks a significant step forward for Midnight Sun Mining Corp, demonstrating its commitment to strategic collaborations and furthering exploration efforts in the highly prospective Solwezi Project. #proactiveinvestors #midnightsunminingcorp #mining #tsxv #mma #otcqb #mdngf #Exploration, #Copper, #Zambia, #KoboldMetals, #MidnightSunMining, #Geology, #AIinMining, #BillGates, #ResourceExploration, #CopperDeposits, #MineralExploration, #Geoscience, #Investing, #NaturalResources, #MineralMining, #MiningIndustry, #MetalMining, #CopperBelt, #MineralResources, #MiningTechnology, #MineralExploration, #ResourceDevelopment, #SustainableMining, #MineralEconomics #invest #investing #investment #investor #stockmarket #stocks #stock #stockmarketnews

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Africa is going to have a huge amount to do to help solve the world's climate change problems, Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines executive chairperson Robert Friedland emphasised in his far-reaching 30th address to the 30th Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town. In those 30 consecutive Indaba presentations, Friedland has regularly highlighted the global need to combat climate change along with the critical role that young Africans will play in saving the planet, even though Africa has done the least to damage it. Last year, humanity experienced the highest temperatures ever recorded. "This is no joke, and it's not going away," Friedland told the full-house audience at the even covered by Mining Weekly. In current circumstances, the world's greatest commodity is, no, not copper, but water, "the most valuable commodity on our planet", with only 2.5% of it fresh and humanity facing a looming water crisis. Ivanhoe Mines is advancing mine development at the Platreef platinum-palladium-gold-nickel-copper discovery on the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex, mine development and exploration at the Kamoa-Kakula copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and upgrading at the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium mine, also on the DRC's Copperbelt. "As we survey the dry areas in South Africa, which is water stressed, we can find a lot more water and the mining industry will be involved in agricultural development. "It is, in fact, crucial in what we are trying to do to combine agricultural development with mining. Part of mining with a greater purpose is to develop agriculture around our mines," Friedland said. Each one degree Celsius increase in temperature causes about a 2% reduction in agricultural output. While the United States, through the Inflation Reduction Act, was earmarking some $3-trillion of expenditure to try to do something about climate change, two automotive companies, Stellantis and Toyota, were blasting the administration's plan for electric cars on the grounds that the very act of mining the raw materials needed to build the electric cars, is going to destroy the environment. "Renewables technology is absurdly metals intensive. A typical electric car uses about six times the minerals of a conventional car. An offshore wind farm uses nine times more minerals than a gas car. This is a huge dilemma," said Friedland. "There's a reason why underwater power cables are so expensive," he said, displaying a huge set of copper-based undersea power cables. "We're talking about just the copper wire for offshore wind being $267-billion in 2030. Now let's talk about the grid. This is a crazy statistic. "We need $21-trillion of investment in the grid building 80-million kilometres of grid to allow us to replace the global electrical grid. "If everybody would go and plug in a Tesla this afternoon, the grid could not deliver. The entire grid needs to be replaced. What are the grids made of? They're made out of metal. "We have mined as a species, 700-million metric tonnes of copper. We are scheduled to require another 700-million metric tonnes in the next 22 years. "Where the hell is this metal supposed to come from and how are we going to mine it? "The United States actually has a government agency that doesn't even have copper listed as a critical raw material. We're going to need a telescope to see the amount of copper we require in the rest of my natural lifespan. "We've lost about a million metric tonnes of copper supply just this year with the problems with the environmental aspects of a mine in Panama and other surprises. "The current copper price simply isn't high enough to do an environmentally class job of building giant coper mines in Latin America. Where's the water going to come from? "And we have the stupid system where all the copper is priced the same. How can we have the same price for copper ...

Phil Carroll and Kevin Hornsby are joined by Colin Bird and Tolai Sikumba as they welcome you to the "Zambia Copper Special" podcast. In this podcast, we explore the integral role of copper mining in Zambia, particularly focusing on the Copperbelt region. This area, straddling Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is not just a geographic location, but the heartbeat of Zambia's economy and a significant player in the global copper industry. Our discussions will delve into the economic and social impact of copper mining, the involvement and backing of the Zambian government, the creation of numerous job opportunities, and the attraction of substantial foreign investments like the recent $1.1 billion infusion from Abu Dhabi's International Resources Holdings in Mopani Copper Mines. Join us as we uncover how this vibrant industry shapes the nation's economy, impacts local communities, and navigates the challenges of environmental sustainability. Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest The information, investment views, and recommendations in this podcast are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this podcast should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.

"Kenneth Kaunda was a rarity: an African President who not only backed football, but [also] actually liked it" - David Goldblatt. In the final episode of Matchday 1 of the African Five-a-side podcast, we profile Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda. Kaunda so loved football and supported the national teal that they were nicknamed the "KK11" in honour of him. We also explore how Kaunda got parastatal conglomerates in Zambia's Copperbelt to sponsor domestic clubs and spur local football development.*Special thanks to the research of Dr. Hikabwa Chipande and his extensive research on this subject which served as the basis for this episode.

US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO Scott Nathan has reiterated the American government's interest in helping to finance the Lobito rail corridor, linking the copper and cobalt mining regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia to Angola's Lobito port. Nathan, who is heading the US Delegation to the US-Africa Business Summit in Botswana this week, made specific reference to the corridor during a virtual media briefing hosted on the sidelines of the summit. Responding to a question related to what progress had been made since the signing, in December, of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signalling America's support for the joint development by DRC and Zambia of a battery metals supply chain, Nathan made a direct link between the MoU and the Lobito corridor. "One notable project announced by President [Joe] Biden at the most recent G7 meeting in Japan is DFC's interest in supporting the development of a railway in the Lobito corridor, which will connect the Copperbelt in DRC and Zambia, through Angola, to global markets." It was confirmed in May that the DFC was conducting a due diligence for a potential financing package of $250-million for the open-access Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor, which would be its first investment in rail on the continent. On July 4, a 30-year concession for the Lobito Corridor - ­ comprising a 1 300-km Angola leg to the DRC border and a further 400-km link to the copper-rich Kolwezi region of the DRC ­- to the private Lobito Atlantic Railway, was announced. The company is a joint venture comprising Trafigura, Mota-Engil and Vecturis. Overall, the consortium plans to invest $455-million in Angola and up to $100-million in the DRC and is studying an additional investment to extend the line further into Zambia. Nathan argued that such infrastructure was crucial for the development of critical minerals that "are incredibly important for the development of the 21st Century economy and for the energy transition". He also expressed support for value addition within the DRC and Zambia, adding that no country should monopolise the processing of these materials. "It's important to diversify supply chains globally, and adding local value is key to that." His statement came a day after the publication of the International Energy Agency's inaugural 'Critical Minerals Market Review', which confirms that there has been a significant rise in exploration and mine development investment for critical minerals, including cobalt and copper. However, the report warned that there had been little progress in diversifying both mine supply and processing, with China dominating the processing of cobalt, lithium, graphite and rare earths.

This month we are delighted to be joined by Patience Mususa from The Nordic Africa Institute. She is an anthropologist with a background in architecture working on mining and urbanization in Southern Africa. She is particularly interested in place and the ways in which people interact in the face of the large scale mining industry and the influence and ramifications of economic downturn and socio-economic transformation. In particular, she is interested in how space is produced, for example why we are so concerned with the idea of modernity and why we tend to use such energy intensive ways to produce place. She gave us insight into her research trajectory and how the different strands of her interests have come together. Part of her interest is rooted in the experience of growing up in a mining town in the Zambian Copperbelt in the height of corporate welfare industrialism and the ensuing changes stemming from the privatization of mining. Join us for this exciting conversation that gives insight into Zambian mining history, the changes that attend the modern era, and how sites of resource extraction are connected to areas of consumption through interlocking systems.  If you are interested to learn more about Patience's work, check out her academic profile (https://nai.uu.se/about-us/person/patience-mususa.html) Check out Patience's book There Used to be Order: Life on the Copperbelt after the Privatisation of the Zambia Consolidated Copper MInes (University of Michigan Press) (https://www.press.umich.edu/9441587/there_used_to_be_order)  Some of the resources mentioned during the episode: Expectations of Modernity by James Ferguson - Paperback - University of California Press (ucpress.edu) UW Press - : Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture, Eugenia W. Herbert (wisc.edu) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/exalt-initiative/message

Hello Interactors,It’s easy to be seduced by the rise of the electric vehicle. I admit I’m a fan. But amidst the glimmer and sheen ugly truths go unseen. Most people pat themselves on the back for switching to an EV, and they should. But don’t pat too hard, there are some evil goblins lurking in those battery cells.As interactors, you’re special individuals self-selected to be a part of an evolutionary journey. You’re also members of an attentive community so I welcome your participation.Please leave your comments below or email me directly.Now let’s go…BLUE FAIRY DUSTIt was 91℉ degrees (32℃), the asphalt 140℉ (60℃), and body temperatures were hitting 104℉ (40℃). The wind was blowing toxic hot smoke in their face. As if a grueling three weeklong Tour de France isn’t hard enough, riders had to contend with record heat and a nearby forest fire this week. The fire had been blazing for two weeks in a southwestern region of France. It had destroyed an area the size of 35 football fields and displaced 34,000 people. And like football fields, these forests are man-made.These pine plantations, nearly one million hectares in all, the largest on the continent, are used to make paper, lumber, and other wood products and chemical biproducts. But they are also carbon stores. Stores so big that when they’re ignited, they become what experts call a ‘carbon bomb’. Because these trees are the same variety, fires spread faster. This makes them not just carbon bombs, but carbon carpet bombs.Carbon stored in these trees are also used to make a liquid bomb, biodiesel. The production of biofuels in Europe, of which Germany and France are the biggest producers, is more commonly derived from used cooking oil and animal fats than plant material. France was already at capacity for growing plants for biofuels. The EU limits the percentage of available land to grow biofuels to protect land for food production and preserve natural habitats. Besides, most believe electric vehicles will be the most and practical way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while displacing internal combustion engines. Biofuel is likely to make contributions to renewable energy, but it will be small relative to batteries. Of course, batteries have their own issues. And they’re not just environmental.One of the necessary ingredients in lithium-ion batteries that power our devices and cars is cobalt. Cobalt takes its name from Germanic fairytales. A kobald, also a goblin or hobgoblin, are little mythical fairies or sprites. German miners believed they lived in the earth and formed a blue streak when they flew away. Others wore blue striped shirts and some a blue hat. These were called blue caps. When German miners came across blue minerals, they would call them goblin ore or kobald. Today we call it cobalt.This metal is mostly produced through the process of copper and nickel mining. The largest quantities in the world are found in central Africa on the border of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a string of copper mines called the Copperbelt. An estimated 50-70% of the world’s cobalt comes from the DRC. Over the last ten years global demand has tripled and is expected to double again in the next decade. It’s currently the safest, best performing, and efficient ingredient for powering electric vehicles (EV). But extracting this metal is no fairytale.There are two ways to extract cobalt from the earth’s crust. One is through industrial mining and the other by hand. Artisanal or Small-scale Mining accounts for 20-30% of total DRC cobalt extractions. Cobalt is so close to the earth’s surface it can be easily discovered. In 2014, one man was said to have discovered cobalt digging a hole for his water cistern. Once discovered, it’s not long before others are digging for this blue gold.But handling this mineral is dangerous. And its high market value and availability can lead to human exploitation. In 2015, Amnesty International and Afrewatch conducted interviews with artisanal miners in southern DRC. What they found should give anyone pause reading this on a device with a lithium-ion battery or is a proud of their ‘sustainable’ EV. One woman talked of dragging 110-pound bags (50kg) of cobalt ore up rickety stairs of makeshift mines 32 feet (10m) deep or more – all prone to collapse. Between 2014 and 2015 the UN reported 80 artisanal mining fatalities in the former province of Katanga. They wore no helmets, gloves, or masks – no protective equipment at all. The woman said, “We all have problems with our lungs and pain all over our bodies.”Paul, aged 14, said in 2015 that he started working in the mines at age 12. He said he’d “spend 24 hours down in the tunnels. I arrived in the morning and would leave the following morning.” Some children reported working 12-hour days. If kids did go to school, many would work before and after school and then 12-hours on Saturday and Sunday. One 15-year-old, Dany, said “There is lots of dust, it is very easy to catch colds, and we hurt all over.” For some, that pain comes from being beaten.Children reported being beaten, or witnessing beatings, by mining company security guards accusing kids of trespassing on their mining territory. They would also demand payment. Kids made to collect, sort, wash, crush, and haul cobalt ore had no way to weigh their bags. Traders would pay them whatever they wished, if at all. These kids said they usually earn $1000 or $2000 Congolese Francs or $1-$2 U.S. Dollars a day.A 2018 study revealed high concentrations of cobalt in the blood and urine of child miners compared to area kids who were not involved in mining. They also found exposure-related DNA damage which makes them more prone to cancer. Children the world over are more prone to environmental pollutant exposure due to physiological characteristics, like high gastrointestinal absorption. Playing in toxic dirt and then bringing their hands to their mouth could make them sick or kill them. Children’s lung molecules are also uniquely susceptible to asthma from air pollution.CORPORATE VICTIM BLAMINGThis is not a good look for the auto industry who is desperately trying to cast EVs as sustainable. It’s also not good for their “Environment, Social, and Corporate Governance” (ESG) ratings or any company in their supply chain. The same could be said for electric grid energy storage companies using lithium-ion batteries. So, the energy extraction industry has taken a two-pronged approach toward what they claim to be a more ethical and reputable path toward a renewable energy transition.The first approach comes on the advice of the World Bank. The World Bank was formed in 1944 to bring economic order to the West after WWII. The United States invited Western delegations and Japan to a luxury hotel in the woods of New Hampshire to hash out a scheme. The group wanted a way to establish global monetary order among friends while also providing the United States global access to its free trade ambitions. Their stated and current goal is to make loans to struggling countries, like the DRC, in hopes of reducing poverty. However, they’ve been criticized for exploiting and damaging the natural and human resources of these countries and their local communities. They’re accused of contributing to destabilizing their political order and perpetuating income disparity between the global North and the global South.The World Bank recommends the extraction industry ‘formalize’ these artisanal miners. They claim bad actors are involved in trading corporate dollars for cobalt mined by artisanal miners. They would rather see energy extraction companies themselves engage with artisanal and small-scale miners. This puts these corporations on the hook for upholding the ethical and moral ESG values their shareholders increasingly demand of them.This leads to the second prong of the two-pronged approach. It’s what some researchers call “corporate outsourcing of responsibility”. Knowing they’ll inevitably face legal risk for directly funding cancer inflicted kids peeing cobalt, they are shifting cobalt extraction risks away from themselves onto the men, women, and children they’re enabling. These two shifts by extraction companies have indeed resulted in opportunities for safer mining conditions. But researchers visiting ‘model mines’ see lax enforcement of protective equipment and practice. They write,“In mining shafts where basic safety regulations are rarely enforced, the sight of gloves, uniforms, hard-hats, safety glasses or steel toed boots is a welcome, but largely symbolic improvement.” They observed “some workers not wearing the equipment properly or failing to wear it at all.”As these companies clear the land and provide access to safer mining conditions it attracts more informal artisanal miners to the area. This pits ‘legal’ against ‘illegal’ miners living and working in the same community. But only one has legal protection. To enforce legal extraction, companies’ hire security guards, or fund local authorities, which can result in more beatings, exploitation, and dispossession. Meanwhile, corporations are legally exonerated. They outsourced their responsibility.The presence of both artisanal and industrial miners makes it difficult to know the true source of cobalt in a battery. Researchers heard from one local NGO, “model mine is just a name (…) At the end of the day, all minerals are bought [by the companies], irrespective of their origin.” This means only a subset of the overall artisanal mining population receive access to corporate benefits – including legal protection.Filipe Calvão, a socio-cultural anthropologist specializing in culture and capital in postcolonial Africa, and his colleagues, conclude, “Though in response to increased corporate scrutiny and as part of responsible mining initiatives, these formalization strategies in the DRC risk exacerbating the vulnerability and insecurity of these populations in a context of outsourced corporate responsibility.”In a 2019 World Economic Forum report, “A Vision for a Sustainable Battery Value Chain in 2030”, they say “between 10 and 12 million [DRC] people depend directly or indirectly on mining and 80% of exports are mining products.” While they acknowledge most cobalt comes from large industrial mines, they also admit “an estimated 40.5 million people globally were directly engaged in artisanal mining, compared to 7 million in industrial mining.” They warn these miner’s internationally recognized human rights are being violated. Including kids. Of the 250,000 people estimated to be working in dangerous mining conditions, 35,000 are children. But an estimated one million children are affected one way or another by the DRC’s mining industry. The World Economic Forum calls for action at every stage of the value chain, but also at every level of government.There’s an accepted view among human rights and environmental scholars and activists that corporations, and their national governments, intent on formalizing artisanal mining must move away from their legalist attempts to outsource their ethical and moral responsibility. They advocate for a bottoms-up approach that focuses on the interaction of people and place. They call for attention on the local workforce, their workplace, and the myriad of practical arrangements among and between workers, traders, and corporate and governmental stakeholders.As early as 2010 the U.S. Congress appeared to be listening. That’s when they passed the Dodd-Frank Act which issues “rules requiring certain companies to disclose their use of conflict minerals if those minerals are ‘necessary to the functionality or production of a product’ manufactured by those companies.” It came about due to “concerns that the exploitation and trade of conflict minerals by armed groups is helping to finance conflict in the DRC region and is contributing to an emergency humanitarian crisis.” It identifies these minerals: tantalum, tin, gold, or tungsten. But there is not a single mention of cobalt. The supply chain of copper and uranium also remain largely unregulated. Where you find copper mines, you often find cobalt mines.It's not just EVs in the crosshairs. Batteries are also needed to buffer and store renewable energy generated from wind and solar. The World Economic Forum estimated in 2017 that 850 million people worldwide lack access to electricity and could benefit from off-grid solar electricity augmented with battery storage. A majority, 67%, of these nearly 1 billion people live in Africa. The cobalt these people are mining in the DRC could better their own lives and the lives of millions of other Africans. But not until their human rights are respected by far flung corporations.DOPAMINE WEANINGBoth off-grid energy storage and electric vehicles are core components of the Paris Agreement. Transportation and the power sector account for 40% of all GHG emissions. We’re talking about a lot of EVs. The World Economic Forum estimates over 250 million electric passenger cars will be on roads by 2030. They also believe the only way to hit those Paris Agreement targets is to move battery production to a circular economy model. Raw mineral extraction could be greatly reduced by creating markets for component recycling and reuse throughout the battery value chain. They believe it will save money too. They estimate, with the right circular economic levers, vehicle manufacturers legally required to adhere to end-of-life management of EV batteries could save an estimated $7 billion a year.This all sounds promising, and I fully support moves to circular economies. I also admit EVs can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and I even think they’re fun to drive! But they’re only ‘green’ when their charged with clean, ethical electricity; when their parts are made and shipped with clean electricity; assembled with clean electricity; and shipped to dealers with clean electric ships, trains, and trucks. Even then, they will still clog our roads and tire particulates will pollute the water. Meanwhile, cobalt extraction will continue to be done by kids in the DRC so long as money can be found by digging a hole in the ground in search of blue dust. Meanwhile, corporations legally shame and blame them, and their parents, for putting cobalt in their pee. There’s no getting around the ugly fact that any consumer participating in this modern technological society are part of the problem. Including me. I’m reminded of a U.S. Marine’s response to the question, “Did you ever kill anyone?” His response: “If I did, you paid me for it.”Here's an idea, what if we also reduce the reliance on, and cure the addiction to, cars? Yes, we need batteries and renewable energy to wean us off fossil fuels – and it must be done ethically – but what will it take to wean over-consumers off over-consumption?We humans have but one reward system – dopamine. It’s a little chemical reaction in our brain that triggers us, among other things, to seek food when we’re hungry. Without it, we’d starve to death. These reactions reinforce the behavior that produce them. The greater the reward the more dopamine is needed for our brains to be satisfied. Eat a donut and you get a dopamine spike. And then a crash as it falls to a baseline. But that baseline has inched higher than before the brain was introduced to the pleasure of a donut. So, not only does the craving increase but it may take two donuts to achieve the same reward next time.This is how addiction works. Amphetamines and cocaine are dopamine super boosters that progressively raise the baseline. Soon addicts are free basing. Buying things is also a dopamine booster, albeit much milder. Consuming goods, or feeding on social media, can also be addictive. The more we consume the more prone we are to desire it more. It’s the hedonic treadmill on which capitalism relies. Unchecked, it leads to disaster. Just like drug and alcohol addiction.Exercise can release dopamine too, but not for everyone. For some, it’s more pleasurable to sit and store energy, than to exercise and burn it. Even if they try to workout, the brain won’t be satisfied until the more pleasurable action is taken. In this case, inaction. Those who enjoy getting exercise, the opposite is true. Going for a walk releases more dopamine than sitting on the couch. But those habits get reinforced as well. Sometimes it takes more exercise to get the same dopamine high – even if it hurts. No pain, no gain. To make the pain pleasurable, one must tell the brain that the pain is not necessarily inane. Staying fit is fun, so get off your butt and walk, bike, or run.For those athletes in the Tour de France to achieve their super-human feats, they have conditioned their brain to believe climbing 15% mountain grades in sweltering heat, on melting asphalt roads, with a fever is fun. It not only takes a special physical body to achieve this, but a disciplined mind. However, in the end, despite what the brain thinks, their bodies have limits.So does our earth, no matter what our brains think. Our brains are as miraculous as they are mysterious. They can invent biofuels and batteries so they can then seek addictive and reinforcing pleasures. One of which is the pleasure of acceleration, power, and domination that comes with driving a car (especially an EV). But for most, getting stuck in traffic, going slow, driving a wimpy compact car does not release dopamine and so people crave the opposite. Another strange paradox: The more pleasure-seeking motorists there are the less satisfying driving is. Until everyone stuck in traffic starts telling themselves ‘this is fun’, motorist brains will not be releasing dopamine. Until walking, rolling, or riding is pleasurable, or we con our brains into believing it is, car owner’s brains will tell the hands to grab the car keys. Even if that dopamine hit only comes from flooring it on a freeway on-ramp on the way to a traffic jam or an accident…the ultimate dopamine crash.Those addicted to cars may have to convince their brain that being inconvenienced by a walk and wait for a bus is a good thing. I, for one, take pleasure in reading and writing on the bus. And I feel more connected to my people and my place. Sure, I get a dopamine hit with sudden acceleration of my car, but it’s so infrequent my baseline keeps dropping. I get more pleasure telling my brain that my choice to walk or bike may save a life, reduce the odds of inducing childhood asthma, or even save the planet. Even if some believe those are all myths, my dopamine dealer doesn’t need to know that. It can believe anything. Like the blue dust of the earth that powers an EV comes from the exhaust of a blue-capped magical mining sprite.References:Cobalt mining and the corporate outsourcing of responsibility in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Filipe Calvao, Catherine Erica Alexina Mcdonald, Matthieu Bolay. The Extractive Industries and Society. 2021.Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo. Célestin Banza Lubaba Nkulu, et al. Nature Sustainability | VOL 1 | SEPTEMBER 2018.A Vision for a Sustainable Battery Value Chain in 2030. World Economic Forum. 2019. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

Have you ever wanted to go on a camping trip in Zambia but haven't known where to go or how to plan your trip? To answer those questions, we brought on Petra Chikasa. Petra is an outdoor enthusiast, adventure travel writer and destination development officer. She shares her favorite places to camp in Lusaka, Central, Northern, Luapula, Muchinga and Copperbelt provinces. She also shares her tips on planning your first camping trip in Zambia. Read Petra's article on women friendly spots in Zambia https://girlcanwander.wordpress.com/2020/04/19/7-of-the-best-camping-spots-for-women-in-zambia/ Follow Petra on Twitter @GirlCanWander Follow Petra on Instagram @GirlCanWander

In this episode, I talk to punchline a Copperbelt based dance hall artist who is on the rising and making waves in the Zambian music industry. this show airs on KaribaFM once a week. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/kusanta-ntangi-chilebe/message

Zambia’s Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) on Tuesday said that the country’s minister of energy, Mathew Nkhuwa, had issued a statutory instrument declaring all of the company’s distribution and transmission lines as common carrier. it said in a statement that the government has for all intents and purposes taken steps that amount to expropriation of CEC infrastructure... taking away CEC’s commercial and property rights, and completely inhibiting the company from making viable business decisions, adding it would engage the government in talks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zak Mir talks with Colin from Xtract about the drilling update on Eureka and Kajevu Copper Prospects, Zambia. Highlights ·    First three holes at Eureka Project cut shallow copper-bearing intervals over downhole widths ranging from 52m to 77m with the fourth hole in mineralisation ·    Handheld XRF spectrometer indicated potential elevated copper and cobalt values ·    Historic and current drilling confirm mineral zone over 240m of strike and to 95m depth, open in several directions and appears to widen at depth ·    Initial core logging suggests possible Copperbelt-style deposit setting ·    Drilling continuing at Eureka- holes being logged and sampled in preparation for external assay ·    Drilling on Matrix Project indicated a 7m mineralised interval in hole MX-05A Colin Bird, Executive Chairman said: "We are particularly pleased with the drilling results at Eureka which are both intriguing and exciting in that mineralised intersections are thick and the occurrence is potentially open on strike and to depth. The results are intriguing on the basis that the occurrence is characteristic of typical copper belt mineralisation whilst the deposit is some considerable distance from the copper belt. It is exciting because the ore body is near vertical and the widths are in excess of our original expectations. We eagerly await the assay results to confirm copper values and the presence of cobalt and the grade, if present. Our plan now is to gather in all the results and plan the next stage of exploration activities to test these encouraging initial results." Full RNS LINK  (https://www.investegate.co.uk/xtract-resources-plc--xtr-/rns/drilling-update-on-eureka---kajevu--zambia/202001231100067344A/)

David Pratten delivers paper at 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop. This is the third of five papers delivered at this workshop on 16 May 2019. ‘Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project ‘Comparing the Copperbelt' based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa's recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining – of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds – generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo's popular painting, Zambia's psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers' lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell's 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

Ramon Sarró and Marina P. Temudo deliver paper at 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop. This is the fourth of five papers delivered at this workshop on 16 May 2019. ‘Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project ‘Comparing the Copperbelt' based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa's recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining – of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds – generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo's popular painting, Zambia's psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers' lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell's 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

Enid Guene delivers paper at 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop. This is the second of five papers delivered at this workshop on 16 May 2019. ‘Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project ‘Comparing the Copperbelt' based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa's recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining – of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds – generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo's popular painting, Zambia's psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers' lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell's 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

Sarah Van Beurden delivers paper at 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop. This is the first of five papers delivered at this workshop on 16 May 2019. ‘Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project ‘Comparing the Copperbelt' based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa's recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining – of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds – generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo's popular painting, Zambia's psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers' lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell's 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

Sarah Van Beurden delivers paper at 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop. This is the first of five papers delivered at this workshop on 16 May 2019. ‘Cultural Production in Africa’s Extractive Communities’ is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project ‘Comparing the Copperbelt’ based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa’s recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining – of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds – generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo’s popular painting, Zambia’s psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers’ lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell’s 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

Enid Guene delivers paper at 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop. This is the second of five papers delivered at this workshop on 16 May 2019. ‘Cultural Production in Africa’s Extractive Communities’ is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project ‘Comparing the Copperbelt’ based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa’s recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining – of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds – generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo’s popular painting, Zambia’s psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers’ lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell’s 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

David Pratten delivers paper at 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop. This is the third of five papers delivered at this workshop on 16 May 2019. ‘Cultural Production in Africa’s Extractive Communities’ is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project ‘Comparing the Copperbelt’ based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa’s recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining – of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds – generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo’s popular painting, Zambia’s psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers’ lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell’s 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

Ramon Sarró and Marina P. Temudo deliver paper at 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop. This is the fourth of five papers delivered at this workshop on 16 May 2019. ‘Cultural Production in Africa’s Extractive Communities’ is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project ‘Comparing the Copperbelt’ based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa’s recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining – of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds – generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo’s popular painting, Zambia’s psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers’ lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell’s 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

What does HH copperbelt support mean?What if any are we learning about Trump ImpechmentHow can we protect Forest 27The Kwacha continues to fallBill 10 - Why the instence 

Late last year, I wrote about Castillo Copper Limited (ASX: CCZ) which announced some great results from their Cangai Copper Mine.  I was immediately intrigued. However, things did not go well for them as there were some environmental issues which appear to have been sorted out with their reinstatement to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).  Cangai Copper Mine in northern New South Wales is still one of Australia’s highest grading historic copper mines with a JORC inferred resource of 3.2Mt @ 3.35% Cu. A few months of hibernation and lots of "discussions" the company has a new strategy and a new team.  Most times, these new strategies are a lot of hot air, but what Castillo has come up with is very interesting.  The talk about the three-pillar strategy and I have to say it is not unattainable. The rebirth has brought in a new project within Zambia's well known "Copperbelt."The two Zambian projects named, Mkushi & Luanshya, are adjacent to producing copper mines, which enhances the upside appeal for Castillo's assets.

Prof Karin Barber delivers keynote lecture for 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project 'Comparing the Copperbelt' based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa's recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining - of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds - generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo's popular painting, Zambia's psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers' lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell's 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

Prof Karin Barber delivers keynote lecture for 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' workshop 'Cultural Production in Africa's Extractive Communities' is the sixth research seminar of the ERC project 'Comparing the Copperbelt' based at the University of Oxford. It focuses on the intersection between mining and cultural production in Central, Western and Southern Africa. Mining was one of the most important engines of transformation in Africa's recent social and economic history. Industrial-scale mining - of gold, copper, tin, coal, oil, and diamonds - generated new towns and hurled people together from myriad cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds. Thus, mining regions have also proved to be important venues of new forms of cultural production. Examples include DRCongo's popular painting, Zambia's psychedelic rock revolution in the 1970s, or Sotho migrant workers' lifela song-poem genre. While certain forms of popular art have been the object of detailed study, e.g. in J.C. Mitchell’s 1956 ethnography of the Kalela dance, many of these studies have tended to be narrow in geographical focus. This seminar will attempt a more global view and will look at a variety of cultural forms across a variety of regions and time periods. It will integrate analysis of cultural production into regional histories that have more commonly been characterised in structural and material terms, exploring the ways in which processes of cultural, political and economic change found expression in everyday life. Questions to be addressed include: in what ways did new forms of popular art integrate various cultural influences to address social issues specific to the mining context? How does the 21st century mining context, defined by plurality and competing global companies, impact cultural production? How do cultural forms produced in such contexts relate to and compare with those produced in other areas of the country? What can popular art tell us about the lived experiences of the societies that produced it?

Mr Patrick Mwape Nkomeshya is the Manager at C & G Building Products, a company which manufactures and supplies quality building products at an affordable price. Based on the Copperbelt town of Mufulira, the company seeks to supply quality building products to its local clientele. Patrick joins us to discuss the products manufactured by his company and impending competition from foreign owned companies.   

On this episode, we're joined by Aaron Mwale. Aaron serves as the Vice President of Zambia Christian Ministers Association, Chairperson of the Town Ministers Fellowship, and Vice Chairperson City Community Developmental Committee. He is located in the Luanshya (Looanshah), Zambia (in the Copperbelt). He's an entrepreneur and a lecturer on the subject of entrepreneurship. For the past few years, he has been involved in training 200 ministers of the gospel in entrepreneurship across Zambia. Christianity in Business is the show that helps Christian business leaders to integrate biblical values into business. | Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Nonprofit | Church | Author | Startups | Marketplace | Ministry | Business as Mission | Faith and Work|Faith | Success | Leadership | www.ChristianityInBusiness.com

On this episode, we’re joined by Aaron Mwale. Aaron serves as the Vice President of Zambia Christian Ministers Association, Chairperson of the Town Ministers Fellowship, and Vice Chairperson City Community Developmental Committee. He is located in the Luanshya (Looanshah), Zambia (in the Copperbelt). He’s an entrepreneur and a lecturer on the subject of entrepreneurship. For the past few years, he has been involved in training 200 ministers of the gospel in entrepreneurship across Zambia. Christianity in Business is the show that helps Christian business leaders to integrate biblical values into business. | Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Nonprofit | Church | Author | Startups | Marketplace | Ministry | Business as Mission | Faith and Work|Faith | Success | Leadership | www.ChristianityInBusiness.com

George Masempela, Author of the book called ‘I Still Call Zambia Home’ was born in Zambia, Africa in a town called Ndola on the Copperbelt. He relocated to Australia in 2004 and studied at TAFE Central  pursuing a Diploma in Tourism Management Operations. Currently he is  working with the Department of Justice as a Prison Officer at the Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison. During his stay in Western Australia, he has been privileged to work with Emily Gower, founder of Gower International Publishing.