Although Zambia is richly endowed with a vast amount of manganese reserves it has failed to capitalise on this and reach higher levels of economic growth. This is partly due to the reason that the sector is underdeveloped because of the many challenges it continues to face.
The Luongo Manganese Mine in Chipili District of Luapula Province Worth over USD$180 million which is earmarked to be one of the biggest Manganese Mines in Africa is still not fully operational even at a time when there is increasing demand for manganese globally.
Manganese is an essential component of the steel-making process, manganese has also played an increasing role in the battery market. The metal sulphate is an important stabilizing ingredient in the cathodes of batteries widely used in electric vehicles and electronics.
Western Province Luapula province Permanent Secretary Might Mumba has confirmed that the 40 million tons Manganese mine which was commissioned by the Head of States President Hakainde Hichilema in November 2022 is still operating on a small scale level.
“The principal came through last year, the President came through to lay a foundation that was done and by then there was a bit of mining going on and even this time around they are mining but only on a small scale. The mining company Musamu resources is yet to put in place the electricity as they are currently using the gen-set and also bring in other essentials.”
Speaking when he commissioned the mine, President Hichilema said the development of Luongo Manganese Mine is a milestone as it has shown that Zambians can set up and run mines in the country.
President Hichilema assured that government will support the mine and ensure that it creates more jobs to benefit the locals.
The Head of State also pledged that suppliers and contractors will benefit from the mine as it will be adding value to the manganese to produce chemical manganese for car batteries.
According to the Association of Zambian Mineral Exploration Companies – AZMEC – The Luongo Manganese Mine in Chipili District of Luapula Province has the capacity to generate about united states dollars USD$180 000 000 (180 Million) as the project is about 40 million tons of manganese.
The mine has been developed by Musamu Resources a Zambian owned company.
Meanwhile efforts to get a comment from Musamu Resources on when the company will commence full production, proved difficulty by press time.
