Interesting new blog post by Margaret O’Callaghan arguing that mines in #Zambia’s North-Western Province do not constitute a 'new Copperbelt':
copperbelt.history.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/21/why…
The argument is unconvincing though. O’Callaghan argues that new developments do not resemble the historical mining industry on the Copperbelt as the ore grade is low, copper is extracted in open pits and mining has not been accompanied by infrastructure development.
All these are features of the Copperbelt in #DRCongo though, where lower-grade ore has been mined in open pits since the 1910s. Infrastructure developed there was also relatively minimal and the province wasn't even connected to the rest of Congo.
O’Callaghan also has a geological argument that copper deposits do not occur in a 'belt' in Zambia's NW Province. This is true, but I don't think that many people refer to the Copperbelt on the basis of geology.
More troubling is O’Callaghan's argument that NW Province should not be called the 'new' Copperbelt because it creates "unrealistic expectations" among residents there about housing and social welfare.
Mining companies in Zambia today don't provide housing and welfare services, but that is the result of corporate policy not an unalterable feature of the industry. Mining communities are right to demand greater benefits from the industry they depend upon.
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