Explore emerald mining, Zambians urged

By SILUMESI MALUMO ZAMBIANS need to tap into emerald mining as it has potential to contribute towards economic growth and poverty reduction, United Party for Prosperous Zambia president (UPPZ) Charles Chanda has said. Mr Chanda said Zambians had not taken keen interest to explore the sector and should do so because emeralds were on high …

Explore emerald mining, Zambians urged
By SILUMESI MALUMO ZAMBIANS need to tap into emerald mining as it has potential to contribute towards economic growth and poverty reduction, United Party for Prosperous Zambia president (UPPZ) Charles Chanda has said. Mr Chanda said Zambians had not taken keen interest to explore the sector and should do so because emeralds were on high demand on the international market. He said the locals should take a centre stage in the lucrative sector instead of leaving it to foreign investors. Mr Chanda who invested in the emerald sector, said the subsector was lucrative and therefore, Zambians should invest massively for the country to start earning much needed revenue. “Zambia has emeralds which are in high demand on the international market. We have seen that Zambia has been producing emeralds which are not mined especially in developed countries. “This is the time Zambians can take advantage so that they can be able to earn more money thereby contributing to the economic growth of the country,” he said. Mr Chanda said Zambians can form cooperatives and be able access resources to help them start mining emeralds.