Ghana, Accra, 27 January 2020 – Zambia’s amethyst and emeralds have received positive feedback from the Ghanaian jewelry market.
This came to light when a Zambian delegation comprised of the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development and ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH) paid a courtesy call on Zambia’s Acting High Commissioner to Ghana Mrs Phyllis Chuma-Chilembe in Accra early on 18 January 2020.
Mrs. Chilembe told the delegation that during the recent visit by Ghana’s Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) to Zambia in 2019, aimed at finding ways of partnering with women in mining and ZCCM-IH in marketing Zambia’s gemstones, the PMMC collected some gemstones which were value-added into jewelry and tested on the market in Ghana.
‘The response from the market has been positive. This is good considering that in light of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA), we need to foster synergies and collaborate with other African countries, and for Zambia and Ghana, this is just the beginning in the area of gemstones’, added Ms. Chilembe.
The Zambian delegation headed by Dr. Desiderius Chapewa, a Chief Geologist from the Ministry of Mines, is in Ghana to gather information on systems and processes the country has put in place to harness the gold potential.
Dr. Chapewa noted that Zambia has got a lot to learn from Ghana as it has been mining gold for many years.
He said with over 300 gold occurrences across Zambia, the gold sector promises to be a significant contributor to the country’s economic development.
‘Gold makes 97% of Ghana’s mineral extraction. By October 2019, Ghana raked in 5.2 billion dollars from the export of gold. So in Zambia, we hope to put in place systems and processes that will ensure future strategic options to drive responsible mining and sustainable economic growth in the gold industry. This, as we have learned so far requires multiple approaches driven by technological mechanisation especially at artisanal and small scale gold mining levels’, added Dr. Chapewa.
Zambia which is largely a copper mining country is looking to formalise and organise the artisanal and small scale gold sector to derive value for the country.
ZCCM-IH has been mandated to drive the national gold agenda, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development and other stakeholders.
ZCCM-IH Public Relations Manager Loisa Mbatha-Kakoma indicated that ‘ZCCM-IH has formed a company to oversee all gold-related investments called the ZCCM Gold Company Limited (ZGC), which will undertake investments throughout the gold value chain to include exploration, mining, processing, refining, marketing and trading and beneficiation in Zambia’.
ZCCM Gold is owned 51% by ZCCM-IH and 49% by the Ministry of Finance.
Public Relations Manager
ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc
