Why foreign investors are ahead of us in this mining business🇿🇲
Someone asked me why i am proposing that government spends $12 million or more on EXPLORATION before Zambians can pool their monies together for investment into a mining company when there is already geophysical mapping taking place ?
Here is my response and I hope it will provide those reading, with information on the difference between mapping and exploration for existence of minerals
Those planes flying over the country are not doing EXPLORATION. They are doing geophysical mapping. We are currently at 35%.
Mapping just tells you that there is rock formation somewhere – it does not tell you what minerals exist and to what extent in the mapped area
No one can invest in mining development without EXPLORATION DATA.
Foreign Investors are able to go to banks and capital markets in their countries because they OWN exploration data.
For as long as Zambia does not own the exploration data, the foreign investors will have the advantage because they would have incurred the expenses for exploration.
Exploration means you drill, pick samples at different depths and analyze what minerals are existing ( this takes a couple of years and requires financial investment). This is where government must be able to put capital upfront so that the exploration data can be used as a basis for mining development.
The money spent by government should be converted to EQUITY in the mining company to be established where Zambians can also be able to pool funds together for the next phase, which is the actual mining.
Lastly, even the current mapping is not being done by Zambians but by two companies from South Africa and Finland.
The South African company ( Xculiber smart mapping) is just picking the data through aerial surveys and sending the raw data to Finland for processing and verification.
#ideasfordevelopment
Christopher Kang’ombe