Lumwana '' is a

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historic mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendigo, ...

located in

Mwinilunga District Mwinilunga District is a district of Zambia, located in North-Western Province. The capital lies at Mwinilunga Mwinilunga is a town in the North-Western Province of Zambia. It is the headquarters of Mwinilunga District, one of the province's ...

, within the North-Western Province of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Geography

The town is located on the T5 Highway, approximately , by road, west of

Solwezi Solwezi is a town in Zambia. It is the provincial capital of the mineral-rich North-Western Province. Solwezi is also the administrative capital of Solwezi District, one of the eleven districts in the North-Western Province. Location Solwezi ...

and east of

Mwinilunga Mwinilunga is a town in the North-Western Province of Zambia. It is the headquarters of Mwinilunga District, one of the province's eleven districts. Location The town lies on the west bank of the ''West Lunga River'', along the Chingola–Solw ...

. Lumwana is approximately by road northwest of

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

, the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is in the

Copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining. Traditionally, the term ''Copperbelt'' includes the ...

mineral deposits and mining region of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

Population

The population of Lumwana was estimated at less than 1,000 in 1999. With 1,000 new homes constructed in the town since then, it is estimated that the population of the town in 2010 was approximately 5,000.

Economy

Prior to 1999, Lumwana was a rural village. In 1999,

Equinox Minerals Limited Equinox Minerals is a mining and exploration company with Headquarters#Corporate, corporate offices in Perth, Western Australia, Perth, Australia and Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has operations in Peru and Australia. In Zambia it owned ...

acquired the nearby Lumwana Copper Mine. Over the next 10 years, working with its Zambian subsidiary, Lumwana Mining Company Limited, Equinox carried out feasibility studies, sourced financing and constructed the present infrastructure. The mine was commissioned in December 2008 and is the largest employer in the town. In July 2011, Barrick Gold acquired a 100% interest in Lumwana mine. As of second quarter 2013, the mine employed approximately 1,850 employees and 4,400 contractors. In addition to

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

, the mine also produces

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

, and

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

. ;Lumwana Multi-Facility Economic Zone An economic development zone, called Lumwana Multi-Facility Economic Zone (LMFEZ), is being developed around the mining operations, to include among others; manufacturing, agroprocessing, hotels, and resorts.

Transport

Lumwana is connected to Solwezi, the capital of North Western Province, by a paved road (the T5 Road). The closest air transport facilities are in

() and Mwinilunga (). There are also two old gravel airstrips within of Lumwana. These can handle light aircraft. One of the airstrips, located in the northern part of Chief Mukumbi’s area has been historically used by the Flying Doctor Service. Plans to build a rail line from

Chingola Chingola is a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper-mining region, with a population of 216,626 (2010 census). It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequent ...

, through Lumwana, to join the Angolan Benguela Railway east of

Luacano Luacano is a town and municipality in Moxico Province, Angola. The municipality had a population of 20,755 in 2014. The Luacano River (''Rio Luacano'') flows past the town to the west before entering the Kasai River, which forms the border between ...

, have reached an advanced stage. In September 2013, the Government of the Republic of Zambia expressed its intentions to advertise the North-West Railway (NWR) project to both local and foreign investors who would be interested to develop the infrastructure.

Points of interest

Points of interest within the town of Lumwana or in the local area include: * The offices of the Lumwana Town Council * Lumwana Farmers Market — the largest source of fresh produce in the town. * Lumwana Copper Mine - A private copper mine that employs over 3,800 people, owned by

and its Zambian subsidiary, the Lumwana Mining Company Limited. * A branch of

Investrust Bank Investrust Bank Plc., commonly known as Investrust Bank, is a commercial bank in Zambia. It is licensed by the Bank of Zambia, the central bank and national banking regulator. Location The head office of the bank is in Ody's Building, along Great ...

— A medium-sized commercial bank, licensed by the national banking regulator, the

Bank of Zambia The Bank of Zambia (BoZ), is the central bank of Zambia. Overview The principal responsibility of the bank is to create and implement monetary policy that will maintain the economic stability of the country. The Bank is active in promoting financ ...

. * Lumwana Premier Resort — a hotel in Manyama, near the Lumwana Copper Mine, and within an hour's drive of Solwezi and Kalumbila.

References

External links

Google Maps.com: map of LumwanaInfomine.com: Profile of Lumwana
{{coord, 11, 49, 32, S, 25, 08, 08, E, region:ZM_type:city, display=title Populated places in North-Western Province, Zambia Mining communities in Africa Mwinilunga District