Quick Facts: Zambian Copperbelt
- The Copperbelt Province in Zambia is home to the mineral-rich Copperbelt
- The Copperbelt Province in Zambia supported the Northern Rhodesian economy during the British colonial rule
- Copperbelt Province adjoins the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Southern Africa
- Major cities of the Copperbelt Province: Kitwe, Ndola, Mufulira, Luanshya, Chingola and Chililabombwe
- Chembe Bird Sanctuary west of Kitwe: crocodiles and plentiful bird life
- Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage
- The Copperbelt Province in Zambia is subdivided into 10 districts: Chililabombwe, Chingola, Kalulushi, Kitwe, Luanshya, Lufwanyama, Masaiti, Mpongwe, Mufulira, Ndola
Introducing Zambian Copperbelt
The Copperbelt Province in Zambia is home to the mineral-rich Copperbelt as well as farming and bush areas to the south. The Copperbelt Province in Zambia supported the Northern Rhodesian economy during the British colonial rule. But its economic importance was severely hurt by a crash in global copper prices in 1973 and the nationalization of the copper mines by the government of Kenneth Kaunda.
The Copperbelt Province in Zambia adjoins the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Southern Africa, which is similarly rich in minerals. The main cities of the Copperbelt Province in Zambia are Kitwe, Ndola, Mufulira, Luanshya, Chingola and Chililabombwe.
Wildlife areas in the Copperbelt Province in Zambia
No national parks can be found in this urban and industrial region of Zambia. Parks with wildlife aspects include the Chembe Bird Sanctuary which is situated west of Kitwe. Crocodiles as well as plentiful bird life can be found here. The Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage has been established to rescue captive non-indigenous chimpanzees.
Districts of the Copperbelt Province in Zambia
The Copperbelt Province in Zambia is subdivided into 10 districts:
- Chililabombwe
- Chingola
- Kalulushi
- Kitwe
- Luanshya
- Lufwanyama
- Masaiti
- Mpongwe
- Mufulira
- Ndola.
Geology of the Copperbelt region, Zambia
The Copperbelt region in Zambia and the Congo ( DRC) is a 500 million year old mountain chain called the Lufilian Arc. It was formed when two large pieces of continental crust, the Kalahari craton and the Congo craton, collided. This collision of continental crust was one of the many which occured between 700 and 500 million years ago to form the Gondwana supercontinent.
The Lufilian Arc in Southern Africa contains two diamictites, megaconglomerates of glacial origin. One of those is correlated with the Sturtian glaciation, while another correlates with the Marinoan Glaciation, both global glaciation events that had profound influence on the history of the planet. The Lufilian Arc is correlated along trend to the west with the Damara Orogen in Namibia, which is also home to large mineral deposits.