Zambezi Resources (ZR) Strike Gold

Zambezi Resources Limited (ZRL) has staked a gold deposit in Chongwe some 60 odd kilometers east of Lusaka City. Lusaka is a fast growing city in Central Africa and the capital city of Zambia. ZRL has reported the presence of high-grade gold deposits at its Chumbwe prospect in Chongwe district. Recently they also announced a find of high-grade uranium at its Oryx prospect in the same area

ZRL managing director Julian Ford said the results at Chumbwe deposits are 27.12g per tonne over 1.3m, 5.12g per tonne over 3,0m, 8.41g per tonne at 1.64m and 7.02g per tonne at 1.0m. These assay result were from the drilling of 24 boreholes using reverse circulation (RC). Three boreholes even showed visible gold flakes and nuggets. This represents a drilled resource measuring 500m and the eastern limit still remains open ended.

More drilling is planned in the second half of this year to determine the extent of gold mineralisation at Chumbwe. 33 boreholes will be drilled to complete the drilling programme.

Albindon and Africa’s Largest Nickel Mine

Albindon Limited is a metal mining and exploration company largely interested nickel. Albidon has just doubled its resource estimate of its new prospect at Munali Project up from 49,000 to 97,000 tonnes of contained nickel metal. But the project is more robust... The Munali nickel deposit also contains over 223,000 ounces of platinum group of metals.

Albidon managing director Dale Rogers announced in the 2005 annual report that several key milestones were achieved including the bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the development of the enterprise at Munali near Mazabuka about 65 kms south of Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city.

Rogers was thrilled, “This is an outstanding achievement and establishes the enterprise as one of the most substantial undeveloped nickel sulphide deposit in the world.”

The development of the mine will include a concentrator but the smelting will be sources abroad. Interested would be partners are from Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe.

But what is Albidon’s policy? To confine its activities to countries that have satisfactory infrastructure, political stability and attractive fiscal regimes in addition to the demonstrated geological prospectivity. Zambia fits that bill like a hand in a glove.

Bio-Fuel Production in Zambia

Zambia is to start bio-fuel production by December 2006, Zambia’s energy minister Felix Mutati announced at the end of May 2006. He was visiting Zambia’s largest cane sugar plantation (Nakambala) and factory owned by Illovo near Mazabuka. The plantation is located on the Kafue River Flats.

Zambia Sugar Plc (ZS) managing director Paul de Robillard said company had the capacity to produce between 12 million litres and 13 million litres of ethanol at their present sugar production. ZS produces 50,000 metric tonnes of molasses and intends to increase this to 100,000 metric tonnes by 2010.

This would double its ethanol production to at least 22 million litres. Currently all molasses ZS produces goes into the domestic livestock sector and a few tonnes are exported within the region.

Mutati said that the government was reviewing the National Energy Policy and the energy legal framework to guide production of bio-fuel. Ethanol can be blended with petrol and the current 13 million litres of ethanol would represent 15 percent Zambia’s petrol consumption.

Zambia’s climate is suitable for cane production. That’s why two new plantations have been established and both produce sugar. One is on the other side of the Kafue, Zambia's second largest river and the other is in the Northern Province.

M-Net Promotes Zambia Safari

A television crew from M-Net’s Studio 53 was in Zambia between March 14 and 20 to promote tourism from northern part of the country. Zambia National Tourist Board (ZNTB) said the TV crew was in Zambia to film sites from Northern Zambia dubbed the “Northern Circuit” to promote tourism to African market.

The “Visit Zambia” campaign would this year focus on the “Northern Circuit” under the theme “Zambia, the land of magnificent waterfalls.” This would expose tourist attractions in the northern part of Zambia.

M-Net crew filmed the waterfalls such as Lumangwe, Kalambo, Chisimba, Ntumbachushi and Kabwelume. Other attractions filmed were Nsalu and Nachikufu caves, Lakes Mweru, Bangeweulu and Tanganyika, Samfya Beach, Kapisha Hot Springs and Niamukolo Church building the oldest in Zambia.