Copperbelt Province
Copperbelt Province in Zambia covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the immediate post-independence period, but its economic importance was severely damaged by a crash in global copper prices in 1973 and the nationalization of the copper mines by the government of Kenneth Kaunda. The province adjoins Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is similarly mineral-rich.
The main cities of the Copperbelt are Kitwe, Ndola, Mufulira, Luanshya, Chingola and Chililabombwe. Roads and rail links extend north into the Congo to Lubumbashi, but the Second Congo War brought economic contact between the two countries to a standstill, now recovering.
It is informally referred to at times as 'Copala' or 'Kopala', implying to the vernacular-like term of the mineral copper that is mined in the province.
Districts
Copperbelt Province is divided into 10 districts:
Copperbelt
The Copperbelt is a region of Central Africa running through northern Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo known for copper mining. Traditionally, it refers to the mining regions of Zambia's Copperbelt Province (around the towns of Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola, Luanshya and Mufulira) and the Congo's Katanga Province with its major city at Lubumbashi. In some contexts the term may exclude the Congo entirely.
History
The Western discovery of copper in Zambia is owed partly to the celebrated American scout Frederick Russell Burnham, who in 1895 led and oversaw the massive Northern Territories (BSA) Exploration Co. expedition which established that major copper deposits existed in Central Africa. Along the Kafue River in then Northern Rhodesia, Burnham saw many similarities to copper deposits he had worked in the United States, and he encountered natives wearing copper bracelets. In his report to the British South Africa Company Burnham had this to say about the region:
Copperbelt (electoral district)
Copperbelt was an electoral district which returned a member to the Legislative Assembly of Yukon, Canada. In 2009 it was divided into Copperbelt South and Copperbelt North.
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Election results
2002 general election
2005 by-election
2006 general election
Podcasts:
