TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 DEDICATION


2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


3 TITLE


4. INTRODUCTION
a) BACKGROUND
b LOCATION OF STUDY AREA


5. PROBLEM STATEMENT
6. AIMS
7. OBJECTIVES
8. METHODOLOGY
9. LITERATURE REVIEW
10. DATA PRESENTATION
11. INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS
12. PROBLEMS AND LIMITATION
13. CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION
14 RECOMMEDATIONS


15 REFERENCES

 DEDICATION
I dedicate this project to the Besa family and my Geography teacher Mr. Mutale 
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Appreciation and thanks go to everyone who contributed positively in producing a successful
project it has not been an easy task without the help of Mr. Mutale and the Besa family Not
 

forgetting God Almighty for his grace and strength.

 TITLE
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE LOCATION OF MINERAL
PROCESSING PLANTS IN MUFULIRA: A CASE STUDY OF MOPANI
COPPER MINES

‫ׅ‬
 INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
Mining is a process by which minerals are extracted from their areas of formation so as to be put
into economic use Extraction of valuable minerals from the earth`s crust for commercial


purposes. Mineral exploitation is done where the mineral is of great value. Its occurrence‫ؚ‬
location and the quantity available for exploitation also influences exploitation process‫ׅ‬Demand
for the minerals creates the necessity for it to be exploited.

Zambia plays an important role in the global copper mining industry The country contains the


largest known deposits of copper in Africa holding 6 percent of known copper reserves in the
world The country has been mining copper for over a century now’ making the industry the main


source of revenue for the country and creates employment for the locals and international
labourers

Mopani Copper Mine is owned by three joint venture partner and these are Glencore
International, First Quantum Minerals and ZCCM. Glencore International which is a Swiss based
commodity trading and mining company with great mining investment and a trading presence in
more than fifty countries world wide.

LOCATION
Map showing the location of Mopani Copper Mines of Mufulira district.
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Mopani Company generates a lot of income from the production of copper but it is also
important to understand the factors that influence the location of the processing plants.
 AIMS
⮚ To find out the factors influencing mineral processing plants.
⮚ To find out how these factors are a short coming to the company.
.
 OBJECTIVES
⮚ To find out the alternative factors that has influenced the location of Mopani Copper
Mines.
⮚ To recommend other factors that can influence the location of the Mopani mineral
processing plant.
⮚ To investigate how the mineral processing plant has raised the standard of living of
the residents.
 METHODOLOGY
Methods of data collection were through the following methods 

•Interviews were conducted to have an expert view on the topic.

●Questionnaires were also issued where a list of questions were prepared and given to the
workers of Mopani Mines to find out the factors that influence the location of mineral
processing plants.
●Literature review was also done through reading a variety of books to acquire more knowledge
about what different books have written about the factors influencing location of mineral
processing plant.
●Direct observations were also made since the Researcher had little knowledge about the topic.
Methods of data presentation in this project will be through the following methods;
●Pie chats were used to present some of the information during the case study
●Diagrammatic representation was used to have a clear view about the topic in study
 LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Tembo (2017) ‫׃‬Different minerals occur in different parts of a country.

Exploitation of such minerals depends on a number of factors such as;
Power‫׃‬There is also need to have power to run machines during the excavation٫processing and
refining of the ores. Today٫mining is highly mechanized both in the open cast mines (quarries)
and underground mines.
Labour‫׃‬Exploitation of minerals requires both skilled and unskilled labour. Without skilled
labour٫it would be very difficult to exploit the mineral and make maximum profit from it.
Companies involved in the exploitation of minerals need to employ people with technical
knowledge to run the machines used to exploit themselves.
Availability of Transport‫׃‬Once minerals have been extracted from the ground٫they is a need to
transport the processed goods to factories. Given that minerals are normally extracted in bulk٫it
is expensive to transport them where there IiiISoped ∕poorly developed transport systems.
Mineral exploitation is therefore influenced by availability of well developed transport systems
such as roads.
Accessibility‫׃‬Minerals may exist in areas that are not easily accessible٫hat is٫remote areas.
The cost of such minerals may be high. For instance٫some minerals could be located in areas
such as mountain tops or in deep valleys. These minerals may not be viable for exploitation. The
mining company must weigh the cost of making the area accessible and the value and demand of
the mineral. The mineral is very valuable٫it may be accessed and mined provided that the cost of
mining is lower than its value in market.
Social−Political Factors‫׃‬Sometimes٫minerals may occur in areas where people have settled.
Such minerals will be very difficult to access when there is no agreement between the mining
company and the residents in order to allow them to relocate to other areas. The government may
also find it hard to undertake mining activities in places near or on its borders with other
countries. The countries involved must first come to an agreement before exploitation begins.
This has been an issue between South Sudan and Sudan.
According to Macmillan (2008) Copper occurrence is one factor that is essential for the mineral
to be exploited, due to minerals having different methods of exploiting them. Minerals like
copper which are not very reactive require power for them to be smelted and also in the
electrolysis cell which is used to turn impure copper to pure copper.
According to Goh Chen Leong (1993); many factors play a role in deciding where industries
should be located and it is never easy to pinpoint them all. An industrialist who sets out to locate
a site for his factor will have to assess, to best of his abilitiy.Various forces that may influence
his investment.
Basically, production factors, power and human resources merit his greatest attention. A good
network of transport enables the production factors to be assembled at his factory site at the
lowest possible cost unless; there is demand for his goods.
 DATA PRESENTATION

Figure 1
Major

USA
EUROPE
CHINA
THAILAND

Figure 2
 Figure3

Figure 4
 INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS
According to figure 1the pie chart has illustrated the major customers of the processed copper
produced by Mufulira Copper Mine. The market provided by these countries has made it
possible for the mineral processing plant to operate successfully. If the company generates more
income from selling the minerals the people of Mufulira district will benefit positively from this
through;
•Employment; employment opportunities will be created which will lift the standard of living
for the people of Mufulira district by reducing poverty.
•Construction of Social Amenities; schools٫hospitals٫football pitches and shopping malls
will be constructed. Evidence has been seen from the construction of Mufulira Central Training
Center (MCTC) which has rendered support in the training of engineers and other mining
professions. This has made many residents of Mufulira to be educated thus reducing illiteracy
levels in the district and the nation at large.
According to figure 2 the diagram has illustrated the necessities needed for a mineral processing
plant. The necessities include;
Raw Materials; mineral processing industries are majorly dependent on the geographical
occurrence of minerals. Without these minerals the processing plants cannot be in existence.
Imagine a scenario where you have been given water only to come up with nsima, it would be an
impossible task right? This is because one essential ingredient mealie meal is missing. This is
also how the company of Mopani cannot operate without the availability of copper. Modern
industries require a wide variety of raw materials and not all of them are available on the spot,
hence imports are necessary.
Power; Generation and transmission of power is cardinal in the processing plant of Mopani
Copper Mines. Power is essential to run machineries like transformers, in surveillance cameras
and on the underground since Mopani is a shaft mine. Therefore power is needed by the
company during working hours to avoid accidents, without power which is supplied by the
Copperbelt Energy Cooperation (CEC) the company cannot operate and this would lead to
people losing their jobs as no money will be generated.
Water; is essential as an ingredient in the processing of copper, for cooling machineries and also
for domestic use by the company. Mopani Copper Mine uses underground water to run its
operations. The company cannot run without the availability of water as they will be a disaster
workers will be knocking off with dirty bodies some covered in grease, they will be a breakout of
diseases like cholera since the company requires water to use in toilets. Water is also used in the
floatation of copper. Hence water is an essential factor in location of mineral processing plants.
Labour; industries are run by people and the numbers needed are determined by the size of the
industry. Three aspects of labour have to be considered, its availability, capability and reward.
In the past when machines were smaller and less complicated large numbers of people were
needed to operate them. Many stages in processing for example in packing were done by hand.
This required a large labour force but relatively unskilled labour. But conditions today are quite
different Mopani Copper Mines has large sophisticated machines that can be managed by only a
few, skilled workers. More and more production stages are being mechanized. This has resulted
in a decline of production. It has, on the contrary increased the annual output.
It is useful to remember that a cheap and abundant labour force is not always a locational
advantage, unless the labour is also efficient. Therefore, skilled labour is an important factor in
any mineral processing plant, although large sums are needed to pay them.

Transport; good transport routes are essential for the location of Mineral processing plants as
minerals processed need to be transported to other countries for sale. If the transport routes are
not integrated and efficient it would be difficult to sale the commodity processed. Good transport
methods will increase the production of money as the company will transport the processed
copper faster which will be quickly accessible to its customers.
Capital; for the inception and continuance of an industry, capital is indispensable. Whether it be
a private or a joint stock company, unless the enterprise is financially sound, there will be no
prospects for the firm. Fortunately capital is a very mobile factor. Where the industrial potential
is good, even in adverse geographical areas, financiers will invest. Therefore, capital is a factor
that has contributed to the setting up of Mopani Copper Mine.
Technology; a successful industrialist makes use of the various machines devised by scientists,
technologists and inventors. Researches are carried out all the time to improve the productivity
and efficiency of existing means of production. Therefore human ingenuity and inventive
resourcefulness have made it possible for highly complex plants to be machine operated in
almost any geographical environment. Without the technological skill of such people, industrial
development of Mopani Copper Mines could not have taken place.
Policies; according to figure 4 good policies attract the location of mineral processing plants.
This includes policies like Free Tax Zones where the Government of Zambia have made some
industries to operate without contributing any tax to the government. This attracts investors
to set up mineral processing plants. Not only that also privatization of certain government owned
mineral processing plants has also made it possible for many industries to be set up including
Mopani Copper Mines because investors had more money than the government.
Land; it also illustrates land as an essential factor for the location of mineral processing plants as
vast land is needed for the company to operate efficiently as they are many infrastructures
required to be built to process copper.
 PROBLEM AND LIMITATION
The Researcher faced a lot of problems in producing this project. The problems faced include;
•Lack of funds to type and print the project.
•Time consuming as the Researcher was in an examination class.
•People were not cooperating in answering questionnaires this made the Researcher to be limited
with information.
•Lack of gadgets like phones which were able to access information from the internet since
ample information was needed for the project.
•Information found on literature review was few as the Researcher had only access to three
books which had information on the topic.
 CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION
In conclusion, according to the data and information given in analysis and interpretation it has
been unearthed that definitely water, raw materials, power, land, transport, market, capital,
technology, policies, labour and natural factors are essential factors in the location of mineral
processing plant. However, it is important to classify them according to importance. According
to the Researchers findings the factors that influence the location of mineral processing plants
can be classified as a major factor and a minor factor according to importance. The following
information shows the order of importance of the major factors and why it is so; Raw materials;
raw materials are the basic requirements of any processing industry. No factory can turn out
goods unless it has some raw materials to begin with. Therefore it can be seen that indeed raw
materials is a supreme factor in the location of mineral processing plants. Capital; once the
mineral have been explored it is very cardinal for the capital to be present which will help in the
setting up of most infrastructures and others. Although it is not dependant on the location of the
mineral processing plant without it no work can be done. Hence, it is the second most important
factor Power; without power the company cannot run its machineries therefore it is essential
during all operations. In the past years coal was often used as a source of fuel by Mopani Copper
Mines but because of new technology Hydro Electric Power (H.E.P) since it is clean, efficient
and can be easily transmitted. The above information has shown the three major factors that are
relevant to deciding the location of mineral processing industries. An essential factor apart from
the listed ones is transport because its function is to transport the processed minerals to the
market. Therefore rail transport is essential to transporting heavy machineries and unprocessed
raw materials from and into the country. The least of the factors that contribute to the location of
mineral processing plants is labour as it is mobile. It can be tapped anywhere regardless the
location of the mineral processing plants. These factors that have been discussed are the factors
that have influenced the location of mineral processing plants.
 RECOMMEDATIONS
The Researcher would like to recommend the Mufulira Copper Mine on the following issues;

•The company should invest in constructing railway lines to improve on the transportation of
processed copper for market. This is because Zambia has no access to sea ports therefore, to
reduce on transportation costs rail transport will be an appropriate transport to be used.
•The company should consider using other sources of power rather than depending on Hydro
Electric Power. (H.E.P). Modern sources of power such as natural gas, solar and nuclear power
can be upgraded to.
•Increase the salary of workers so as to increase the motivation towards work.
•Improve its safety by having routine check ups during working hours.
•The company should invest in employing skilled labour to improve on the production of the
company.
 REFERENCES
Goh Cheng Leong B. A (1993) New Oxford Progressive Geography
Macmillan. M et al (2000) A division of Macmillan Publishers Limited Companies and
representatives throughout the world.
Ntalasha L.s et al (2004) A High School Geography of Zambia and the sub region. Lusaka
Times Park Zambia.
Tembo A. (2017) Excel and Advance in Geography Learners book.
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