Govt to curb illegal mining in Zambia

Christopher Yaluma

Mines Minister Christopher Yaluma says his ministry is putting in place stringent measures to curb illegal mining activities of lime stone, emeralds and other precious minerals in Nyimba district of eastern province and other parts of the country.

Mr Yaluma has told parliament yesterday that government is aware of the illegal mining activities in Nyimba district.

He says his ministry wants to ensure that there is a comprehensive report on the amount of mineral wealth in the district and see how government can come in to ensure there is legal mining activities in the area so as to benefit the people

Mr Yaluma states that the current mining activities in Nyimba are not taxed and as a result, the ministry recently suspended licenses for some mining firms that went to explore the mineral wealth in the district.