Copperbelt Province: Difference between revisions

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Hand axes and cleavers dating from the early Stone Age and found in the province demonstrate the antiquity of human settlement in the area. By ad300 inhabitants of the region were farmers who smelted iron and exploited local copper deposits. British colonial rule began in the mid-1890s when the British South Africa Company signed treaties with local chiefs. The province became part of the colony of Northern Rhodesia in 1924, and part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953. Members of the mining communities of the Copperbelt took a lead role in the political struggle that brought independence to Zambia in 1964. Population 1,428,869 (1990).
Hand axes and cleavers dating from the early Stone Age and found in the province demonstrate the antiquity of human settlement in the area. By ad300 inhabitants of the region were farmers who smelted iron and exploited local copper deposits. British colonial rule began in the mid-1890s when the British South Africa Company signed treaties with local chiefs. The province became part of the colony of Northern Rhodesia in 1924, and part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953. Members of the mining communities of the Copperbelt took a lead role in the political struggle that brought independence to Zambia in 1964. Population 1,428,869 (1990).
==References==
<references/>
{{Districts of Zambia}}
{{Coord|13|00|S|28|00|E|region:ZM_type:adm1st|display=title}}
[[Category:Copperbelt Province| ]]
[[Category:Provinces of Zambia]]
[[Category:Copper mining]]
[[Category:Geology of Zambia]]

Revision as of 20:34, 28 June 2016

Copperbelt
Province
Map of the Copperbelt Province showing its districts.
Map of the Copperbelt Province showing its districts.
Country Zambia
CapitalNdola
Area
 • Total31,328 km2 (12,096 sq mi)
Population (2015)
 • Total2,362,207
 • Density75/km2 (200/sq mi)

Copperbelt, formerly Western Province, province in north central Zambia, located southwest of Katanga Region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire). The Copperbelt covers 3,133 sq km (1,210 sq mi) of the upper portion of the basin of the Kafue River on the central plateau of southern Africa, and is about 900 to 1,500 m (about 3,000 to 5,000 ft) above sea level. The rolling terrain is covered by savanna vegetation. The province receives an average of 1,200 to 1,400 mm (about 48 to 55 in) of precipitation during the rainy season, which lasts from about November to April.

The Copperbelt is the center of a mining industry that provides more than 90 percent of Zambia's export earnings. Copper is the principal mineral produced, and cobalt, selenium, and precious metals are extracted as byproducts. The region has a diversified industrial base specializing in primary processing of minerals and in the production of consumer goods. Small-scale peasant agriculture predominates, although there are substantial commercial farms near the major cities.

The prevailing ethnic groups in the Copperbelt are the Lamba and Lira, but the population is extremely diverse as a result of many decades of migration from all parts of Zambia and from neighboring countries. More than 90 percent of the population lives in urban areas. The largest cities are the provincial capital, Ndola; Kitwe; Luanshya; Chingola; and Mufulira. Bemba is the dominant language.

Hand axes and cleavers dating from the early Stone Age and found in the province demonstrate the antiquity of human settlement in the area. By ad300 inhabitants of the region were farmers who smelted iron and exploited local copper deposits. British colonial rule began in the mid-1890s when the British South Africa Company signed treaties with local chiefs. The province became part of the colony of Northern Rhodesia in 1924, and part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953. Members of the mining communities of the Copperbelt took a lead role in the political struggle that brought independence to Zambia in 1964. Population 1,428,869 (1990).

References


Coordinates: 13°00′S 28°00′E / 13.000°S 28.000°E / -13.000; 28.000