Fate of Over 30 illegal Miners Trapped in Chingola lies in the balance

By Kalata News,
LUSAKA – OVER 30 illegal miners are said to have been trapped since Thursday, November 30, in illegal tunnels dug within the Kasenseli Mine dump site in the mining town of Chingola, in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia and about 412 kilometres North of the capital Lusaka.

So far seven bodies of these miners have been retrieved, according to the Zambia Police Service.

These miners, locally known as ‘jerabos’ are said to have been trapped underground when the tunnels they were in were overwhelmed by floods resulting from the rains from the area.

Their fate now lies in the balance, as rescue teams, due to poor equipment, still have not finished pumping out water in the flooded tunnels.

“Chiwempala police station of Chingola District received a report of a Mine accident of drowning which occurred on November 30, 2023 between 21:00 and 22:00 hours at Cop A (Kasenseli) Konkola copper mine KCM Open Pit. Seven bodies were retrieved. The Police, KCM (Konkola Copper Mines) rescue team and fire brigade visited the scene and discovered that there were two more sites within the pit where more victims were still buried and efforts are being made to retrieve them,” reported Police Spokesperson Ray Hamoonga.

Copperbelt Province Minister Elisha Matambo told local reporters that said rescue operators at the site have managed to pump out water in the tunnel that had flooded.

He said progress had been made at Kasenseli dump site where over 30 Miners are trapped though no miner has been retried as at Day 3 of the search operations.

Matambo said the Zambia Army Commando Unit had also joined the team to help with rescue operations. The incident has prompted urgent efforts by a collaborative rescue team comprising individuals from Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and the Mines Safety Department.

The Provincial Minister stated that rescue operators have assured that they are only remaining with about 2.5 meters to reach where the Miners are believed to be perched at.

He said about 27 families are said to have registered names of missing relatives related to this mining incident.

Accidents of this nature involving illegal miners are common as their activities seem to be tolerated by political leadership failing to provide decent jobs for these youths miners.

The Copperbelt has a number of illegal mining activities happening in the previously owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) dump sites in several mining towns of Kitwe, Ndola, Chingola among others.

Chingola is a city in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, the country’s copper-mining region, with a population of 216,626 (2010 census). It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequently (in the 1960s) led to the development of two open pit operations, Chingola Open Pit and then Nchanga Open Pit (the latter being the second largest open cast mine in the world).

Chingola was founded in 1943, somewhat later than most other Copperbelt towns. Chingola was built to service the newly opened Nchanga copper mine. Alongside Luanshya (the “Garden Town of the Copperbelt”), Chingola is perhaps one of the best laid-out and most picturesque towns in Zambia.

This area was inherited by the Lamba speaking people since the times of migrations, like any other towns in the copper belt Lamba is the indigenous language. The name Chingola was taken from the local chief of the Lamba people, chief Chikola. And there is a school in the area given in honor of the chief named “Chikola Secondary School”. The language mostly spoken in Chingola town is a Bemba dominated lingua franca, and this is the case in the rest of the Towns.

Once called the cleanest city in Zambia, Chingola is one of the most picturesque of the Copperbelt towns with a profusion of trees and flowers. The higher rainfall in this part of the country is very evident in the greenery throughout the suburbs. Chingola is home to one of the biggest open-cast mines in Africa.

If you want to go sightseeing, it is possible to visit the mine but you must secure a permit from the mine office. If you’re a golfing enthusiast, Nchanga Golf Course in Chingola is considered one of the most beautiful and well-kept courses in the country. Other courses in the area are Mufulira, Konkola and Chubuluma.

Chingola is home to Chimfunshi Chimpanzee Sanctuary, home of rehabilitated, orphaned, abandoned and rescued chimps and primates.