Geological surveys vital
By BENNIE MUNDANDO LACK of geological surveys in the emerald sector has hampered the growth of business in the sector but we have renewed hope that this will receive the attention it deserves since it has been included in the 2018 national budget, the Emerald and Semi-precious stones Mining Association of Zambia (ESMAZ) has observed.
ESMAZ president Victor Kalesha said while most players in the sector had invested heavily for their investments, realisation of such capital pumped into the businesses remained elusive in most cases due to lack of such vital surveys which he said needed urgent attention if the emerald sector was to become viable.
Mr. Kalesha said the emerald sector was one of the sectors which could contribute to economic growth if measures were put in place to ensure that it thrived despite the challenges it was currently facing and that its inclusion in the 2018 budget offered fresh hopes that something positive will come out of it.
He called on Government to actualise its pronouncements on the need for geological surveys as that would help the sector immensely.
“As an association we are saddened because we are losing members in the sector who have spent a lot of money at their mines without getting any benefit due to the lack of adequate geological information in the emerald restricted area.
“We would like to urge government to save people losing colossal amounts of money by conducting geological surveys in the emerald restricted areas which have a lot of potential. We are glad that the issue of geological surveying was included in the budget and we hope Lufwanyama emerald is on the agenda too. It is very painful to see people dying without getting any benefits from their investment,” Mr. Kalesha said.
He appealed to President Edgar Lungu to ensure that Government buys its ideas on what needed to be done to revamp the sector as that was the only way it would grow to benefit the small scale Zambian miners whom he said were currently struggling to expand their business despite their potential.
“We are optimistic the Republican President will buy into our proposals of developing the emerald sector so that some Zambian small-scale miners may benefit from the sector,” he said.