By CHATULA KANGALI –
THE Government is seeking partnership in empowering small-scale emerald miners with machinery and loans.
Mines Permanent Secretary, Paul Chanda said the Government was looking for partners that would help support small-scale emerald miners with capital for operations.
He said his ministry would welcome partnership from any willing institution whether local or foreign in empowering small-scale emerald miners.
“We are looking for partners who can help us support small-scale emerald miners with machinery and loans for operations. The majority of our small-scale emerald miners with licences are not operating due to lack of machinery and capital,” he said.
Mr Chanda, however, urged small-scale emerald miners to form a cooperative as this would help them access funds and machinery.
He noted that small-scale emerald miners lacked geological information in the mining of the precious stones.
Mr Chanda said from the last empowerment funding, some miners had not used the money for its intended purpose but diverted it to other things.
The Emeralds and Semi-Precious Stone Miners Association of Zambia (ESMAZ) recently said that small-scale miners needed a minimum capital investment of US$5 million for operations.
Association president Richard Mandona said members were unable to mine emeralds and other precious stones in the country due to lack of machinery and funding.
