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TOPIC 10: MINING.

Duration: 12 Periods

Overview.

This topic is intended to widen the learner’s existing knowledge of the classification of minerals and
methods of mining in both developed and developing countries. Learners should strive to acquaint
themselves with the ability to assess the contribution of the mining sector, its problems and possible
solutions.

General Objectives

By the end of the topic, learners should be able to;

i. Explain the factors influencing the exploitation of minerals.

ii. Assess the contribution of mining to development.
iii. Analyze the problems facing the mining industry and possible solutions.

Sub-Topic: Minerals and Mineral Exploitation.

Specific Objectives

The learner should be able to:

i. Identify the major types of minerals

ii. Discuss the factors influencing mining.
iii. Describe the mining methods.
iv. Describe the distribution of minerals in the world.
v. Analyze case studies on the importance, problems and solutions to the problems in the major
mining region.

Content.

 Classification of minerals (metals, non-metals and fuel minerals)

 Factors influencing mining.
 Mining methods.
 Distribution of major minerals in the world.
 Case studies of major mining regions of the world
 Importance, problems and possible solutions to the problems facing mining in each region.

Sub Topic: Minerals and Mineral Extraction.

Classification of Minerals.

Mining is the act of extracting valuable mineral ores from the earth. It is the removal of minerals from
the ground for commercial uses. Mining is a primary and robber industry because minerals get
exhausted and cannot be removed or renewed or regenerated. The mining industry involves all
processes or activities related to the extraction, processing and trade in minerals. In the industrial
sector, minerals are used as raw materials, a source of power such as gas, oil and coal and it contributes

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to the generation of capital when exported. Mining operations generally progress through stages
namely;

Mineral Prospecting.

Mineral prospecting is the search for mineral deposits.

Mineral Exploration.

Exploration is the work involved in assessing the size, shape, location and economic value of the deposit.

Mineral Development

Mineral Development is the work of preparing access to the deposit so that the minerals can be
extracted from the mine.

Mineral Exploitation

Mineral exploitation is the work of extracting the mineral.

Once minerals are extracted cannot be replaced in a life time of generations, unless new ore deposits
are discovered, this vital source of wealth will ultimately be exhausted. Conservation measures must
therefore, be employed to prolong the life of world minerals.

A mineral.

A mineral is a chemical compound which occurs in the earth’s crustal rocks ad which forms the basis of
rocks. It is an aggregate of inorganic compounds from elements of the earth’s crustal rocks. Minerals are
identified basing on color, lustra (brightness), cleavage (regular patterns), hardness (when scratched),
density or specific gravity (ratio of minerals weight to the weight of an equal volume of water) and other
properties such as their ability to transmit light (e.g. transparent, translucent and opaque), their texture
(when seen under a microscope), their conductivity (ability to conduct electricity), malleability
(flexibility when being shaped), ductility (ready compliance to metallurgical processes), alloy ability
(capability of being alloyed with other minerals or metals to form new compounds), elasticity (spring
effect), magnetic attraction and their resistance to shock, corrosion, abrasion, heat and cold.

Classification of minerals.

For general and commercial purposes of the wide variety of minerals exploited by man is grouped into a
number of classes. These classes include metals, non-metals and fuel minerals. The following are the
classes of minerals;

Rocks.

Rocks are aggregates of minerals. Those commercially exploited include granite and other crystalline
igneous and metamorphic rocks which are used as road-metals, granite, limestone, marble, sandstone,
slate and other buildings stones. Clay for brick making, limestone for cement making and gravel as well
as sand used in mixing concrete.

Non-metallic minerals.

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These include salt, potash, nitrates and other mineral fertilizers such as sulphur used in the chemicals’
industry; and asbestos. Certain previous stones such as diamonds are also no-metallic minerals. Non-
metallic minerals do not produce metals even after processing. There are several non-metallic minerals
including phosphates, nitrates, potash, graphite, sulphur, mica and precious stones.

Uses Of Non-Metallic Minerals.

Phosphates, nitrates and potash are used for making fertilizers.

Graphite is a form of carbon which is soft and is used in the manufacture of pencils, paints and dry cells.

Sulphur occurs in regions associated with volcanic activity. It is mainly used in manufacturing a variety of
chemicals and in the vulcanization (hardening0 of rubber. It is also used in the manufacture of medicines
and insecticides.

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral which occurs in some igneous rocks. It is mainly used for manufacturing fire
proof clothing, insulating materials and building materials.

Common salts occurs in certain types of rocks. Over half of all the salts produced in the world is
consumed and the rest is used in the manufacture of chemicals.

Precious stones such as diamonds, rubies, tanzanite and green garnet are used in the making of jewelry.

Metallic minerals.

Most metals occurs as compounds such as oxides or carbonates or sulphates but a few such as gold
occur in pure state. The deposits of metallic mineral particles to the base of slopes due to weathering
and erosion by rivers of rocks containing lodes and veins are called alluvial or placer deposits. Some
metallic minerals contain a high percentage of metals although the more extensive deposits often
contain a low percentage. Metallic minerals are probably the most valuable because they can be used
for a very wide range of purposes.

The metals may be sub-divided into two, namely, non-ferrous metals and ferrous metals.

Non-ferrous metals.

Non-ferrous metals contain elements such as copper, lead, zinc, aluminum and tin but not iron.

Ferrous metals.

Ferrous metals contain iron. There are four types iron ore; namely; Haematite-Fe3O4 (which has iron
content of about 70%) and mainly occurs in igneous rocks), Limonite – 2Fe2O3H2O (with iron content
rarely exceeding 60%), siderite – Fe2CO3 (with iron content of about 30% and mainly occurs in
sedimentary rocks)

Other metals include Manganese, Chromium, Cobalt, Molybdenum, Silver, Platinum, Gold, Uranium,
Nickel, Tungsten, and Vanadium-Ferro Alloys.

Fossil Fuels and Energy Minerals.

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These are minerals that can be used to produce power. For example, coal and petroleum. Mineral fuels
are non-metallic minerals derived from vegetable remains and are important because they burn; coal,
oil and natural gas as well as uranium (indirect).

Factors Influencing Mining Activities and the Mining Industry at Large.

The presence of mineral deposits. For any mine to be exploited, the deposits must be in large quantities
and the mineral must be of high value for the commercial purposes. Minerals of high value such as gold,
diamonds, copper, tin or uranium can often be mined at very high costs without loss of profitability
because they are in great demand and fetch high prices.

The size of the deposit is important because mining required a large amount of expensive equipment. It
would not be worthwhile to provide to provide such equipment to work a deposit which would run out
of deposits or ore in a matter of weeks or months. Small scale working is only profitable under certain
circumstances. Gold for instance, may be worthwhile to extract in small quantities because of its value.
Small minerals deposits may be worked profitably by labor intensive methods requiring little equipment,
e.gg planning.

The grade of the ore also influences he nature and pattern of mining methods. Ores vary in their metal
content very markedly. Generally speaking, the higher grade ores are more economical to work, not only
because they yield a large amount of metal, but also because their higher metals content makes them
easier and cheaper to smelt.

The method of mining depends on the mode of occurrence of the ore. The cheapest type of mining is
open cast mining whilst shaft mines are very expensive. For small deposits, expensive mining methods
are however, out of reach.

Transport costs too influence mining decisions. It is clearly more economical to mine ores near to the
major industrial markets because all ore are relatively bulky and heavy in comparison with their mineral
content. They are thus, awkward and costly to transport and the shorter the distance to be covered the
better. Thus, mineral deposits in remote, sparsely peopled regions with small population and few
transport links are less likely to be exploited than areas with reliable transport.

Other factors influencing the nature of the mining process.

The availability of cheap, skilled and semi-skilled labor force.

The availability of political stability.

State of the world trade in the mineral in question.

The state of the price levels of the mineral in question.

The level of market reliability.

The availability of adequate proportion of capital.

The availability of favorable government policies and will.

The availability of reliable sources of fresh water.

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The availability of cheap, user-friendly technology.

The availability of reliable sources of power.

The availability of intensive research.

Mining Methods.

Since minerals occur in such varied formations, different methods are required for their extraction from
surrounding rock. The type of mining employed in given situations will take into account not only the
mode of occurrence but the relative ease and expense of applying various methods as discussed here
under:

Open Cast Mining/Stripping Method.

Open Cast Mining is the most common method of extracting minerals that occur at or near the earth’s
surface. It involves the removal or stripping of the top layer of the earth (over burden) and other
materials lying above the mineral deposits. These materials are usually dumped in the neighborhood.

Bull dozers and other earth moving machinery are used. If the mineral ore is soft, it is simply dug out
using mechanical shovels. If the mineral bearing rock is hard, it is blasted using explosives such as
dynamites to loosen the ore.

Mechanical shovels are used to scoop the mineral deposits and load them into the trucks, Lorries or
railway wagons. In open cast mining, the output large and rapid. It is used when excavating minerals
and ores such as iron ore, bauxite, phosphates and coal. The open cast method is used to excavate
limestone at Bamburi and Athi River both in Kenya as well as in many other places.

When ordinary rocks such as granite, lignite and limestone are excavated to obtain stones, the site is
referred to as a quarry and the process is quarrying. The site where soft and loose materials such as
sand, clay and murram are scooped is called a pit, for example, a sand pit or murram pit.

Overhead costs such as safety precautions and equipment are relatively low in open cast mining and
output is both large and rapid. In Germany, a bucket conveyor is used to remove the overburden,
scooping over 7,800 cubic meters per hour.

Note: Quarrying is actually, not a mining but it is part of open cast mining.

Underground mining of method.

Underground mining is used for minerals that occur deep in the ground and cannot be extracted by
open-cast methods but one of the following methods to be seen later. The various methods employed in
underground mining depend on the mode of occurrence of the mineral. The following are the
commonest underground methods:

(a) Deep Shaft Method of Underground Mining.

Deep shaft underground mining is used when the mineral lies very deep below the earth’s surface
where the overlying layers of rocks may be too thick to be removed by mechanical means.

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In this case vertical shaft tunnels are dug vertically and sunk into the earth’s crust in order to reach the
layer with the mineral. From the shaft, tunnels or galleries are dug horizontally to reach the mineral
bearing seams, veins or lodes.

Deep shaft are kept well ventilated by pumping fresh air into them from the surface. They are also kept
clear of flooding. The roof of the tunnel must be supported by pit props of timber, steel or concrete
beams to prevent it from collapsing.

Light railway tracks are then laid down to bring the ore to the foot of the shaft. Measures are taken to
keep the mines free of poisonous gases and dust. Minerals are extracted by digging or mechanical
drills. In very hard rocks, controlled dynamite is used to loosen the rock ores.

The broken debris is loaded onto trolleys which bring it to the foot of the shaft where it is hoisted to
the surface by lifts and taken to the processing plants for value addition, for example, coal mining in
Germany.

(b) Adit Method Underground Mining.

There are minerals which occur deep below the earth’s surface but can be reached from the hill or
valley sides. In this case, horizontal or inclined tunnels are constructed from the hill or valley sides into
the hill up to the mineral reserves.

These tunnels are known as adit and the method of mining is known as adit or drift mining. Some
people call it hill-slope boring. Light railway tracks can be constructed into the mine to bring the ore to
the surface. Copper is mined using this method in Zambia, Shaba Province of the D.R.C and Kilembe of
Uganda.

(c) Solution Underground Mining.

Minerals such as potash, shaft and sulphur are mined by drilling and sinking pipes into the ground.
Super-heated water is pumped into the ground-deposit until the mineral dissolves or melts (for
example, sulphur). The solution is then pumped to the surface. At the same surface, water is extracted
or evaporated thus, leaving the mineral behind.

(d) Drilling Method.

Crude oil or natural gas are mainly exploited by drilling boreholes deep into the ground up to the rock
containing the fossil fuels. The boreholes become oil or gas wells when pumps are installed.

The basic equipment of oil or petroleum drilling is a derrick. This is a steel tower about 40 meters high.
Exploration/prospecting/survey of the oil is done and installing of the derrick/oil rigs follows. The
derrick carries a drill stem on which steel drilling pipes are screwed/attached having a drill bit.

The drilling bit is used to drill into/ cut through the rock strata/layers to reach the oil wells below.
Lubricating mud is pumped into drilling pipes to lubricate the bit and to bring up rock samples. Once the
bit reaches the oil stratum/layer, crude oil rushes out by natural pressure or pumped out to the surface
using oil pumps if natural pressure is weak. The oil is then transported through pipes, fuel tankers,
trucks to the refinery.

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Problems Associated With Underground Mining.

 Sometimes mines get flooded with subterranean waters. Such flooding may interrupt mining
activities or even cause death of the miners.
 The dust produced during mining especially drilling and blasting causes respiratory diseases
such as silicosis.
 There are occasional emission of poisonous gases formerly trapped in the rocks which are
harmful to Miners
 There are occasional explosions associated with gases especially coal mines which cause fires in
the mines.
 Sometimes tunnel roofs collapse hence trapping miners or even resulting in deaths of miners.

Alluvial Mining.

There are places where loose minerals such as gold, diamond and diamond are mixed up with alluvial
deposits on the river beds or river banks. Alluvial mining is common in river valleys. It is used by gold
prospectus in Kakamega and Migori counties in Kenya as well as Wolfram miners in western Uganda.
Minerals which occur in alluvial deposits can be extracted on small or large scale through the following;

(a) Placer alluvial Mining.

Placer Mining involves mixing the alluvial deposit with water in a container. The mixture is rotated
until light particles such as sand, mud and small stones are washed off leaving mineral particles such as
gold, platinum and diamond at the bottom as well as chromium, tin which have a higher specific
gravity.

(b) Panning Alluvial Mining.

On a small scale, miners use a circular pan and by swirling it around, lighter materials are washed away
leaving the heavy mineral deposit behind. Panning is done by hand and it is often the most economic
method in small deposits, stream beds or in re-working old tailings.

(c) Hydraulic Alluvial Mining.

This is done if a mineral deposit outcrop from a valley or hill side, a jet of water under very high
pressure is used. The jet water is directed at the outcropped deposit. Gravel and minerals are dislodged
and washed down. These collect at valley bottom where mineral grains are recovered.

(d) Dredging.

Dredging is a mining method that is used to obtain minerals that are either on the surface of a lake in
form of a crust or are embedded in alluvial deposits at the bottom of a lake or pond. It is an expensive
method and so it is used where it is profitable to excavate the mineral. A dredge floats on the lake or
pond. Its mechanical shovels cut through the crust of mineral deposit on the surface of the water. The
cut chunks are placed onto the conveyor belt and sent into a crasher. The crushed materials are then
mixed with water and pumped ashore where processing takes place. Where the mineral is part of the
alluvium on the lake bed, the dredger digs up and passes it over sloping channels, heavier particles are
trapped while the waste is washed away.

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Distribution of Major Minerals in the World.

Case Studies of Major Minerals in the World and Major Mining Regions.

i. The Rand of South Africa.

ii. Iron ore in Liberia.
iii. Oil and natural gas in Algeria.
iv. Oil and natural gas in Nigeria.
v. Oil and natural gas in Libya.
vi. Oil and natural gas in Egypt.
vii. The Copper Belt of Zambia and the D.R.C.
viii. The Ruhr region of Germany.
ix. Alsace and Lorraine region of France.
x. The Great Lakes region North America.

The Mining Industry in the Republic Of South Africa.

South Africa is gifted with a large number and large quantities of minerals. South Africa has the most
developed mining industry in Africa. These minerals are listed down as follows:

Gold.

Today, South Africa is the sixth largest producer of gold after China, Australia, USA, Russia and Peru in
that order. The gold mining areas in South Africa forms great arc, stretching for a distance of 400km
from Johannesburg. Gold mining in South Africa is carried out in a lucrative mining province or
conurbation called Witwatersrand or the Rand mining and industrial conurbation. The gold in this
region is embedded in igneous rocks several thousands of meters below the surface. Some of the gold
mines are more than 2500meters (8200ft) deep. The gold bearing rocks are mined like coal. The Rand
forms a belt of about 400km long and it centers on the city of Johannesburg. The main gold fields are
concentrated in Johannesburg, Odendaalsrus, Lydenburg, Krugersdorp, and Klerksdorp (North West
Province), Vierfontein, Springs ( Allan Ridge, Welkon, Virginia in Orange Free State), Carletonville,
Randfontein, (in the Far West Rand), Benoni, Brakpan, Boksburg, Germiston (in the Central Rand), and
Heidelberg (in the East Rand)

The gold deposits cover parts of the Orange Free State and Transvaal Provinces. The Far East fields are
located near the Mpumalanga borders. The newest gold fields are in the Free State Province. Those in
Witwatersrand are getting exhausted but the high prices of gold in the world are so enticing that old
mines are being re-opened. There are also gold reserves in Limpopo and Northern KwaZulu-Natal
Provinces.

Occurrence of Gold.

Gold occurs as small grains not generally visible to the naked eye. The grains are concentrated in reefs in
very hard quartzite or quartz pebbles conglomerates. In some areas gold occurs together with uranium.
In South Africa, gold was discovered on large scale in 1886 by a farmer at Johannesburg.

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Gold Exploitation in the Republic Of South Africa.

Commercial exploitation of gold is by deep shaft method because most gold bearing rocks are found at
depths below 1,300meters. The deepest mines are 4,000meters below the earth’s surface. Some might
even reach 5,000meters as more old mines are re-opened. The gold ore is extracted by pressure drills
and explosives because of the hardness of the rock surrounding the gold veins. Due to high
temperatures of around 380C and humidity deep down, refrigerated air is pumped into the mines to cool
them and also provide fresh air for the miners. The broken pieces of gold are hoisted to the surface by
lifts. Once out of the mines, the gold ore is taken to the processing plant.

The processing of gold in the Rand.

Gold goes through the following stages of processing:

a) The gold ore is placed in a crushing mill or mills called ball mills. These ball mills have steel balls
that are used to crush and grind the rock. The ore is thus ground into fine powder.
b) The powder rock is mixed with water to produce slime.
c) The slime is passed through potassium cyanide solution which dissolves the finer particles of
gold but not those of uranium.
d) The gold bearing solution is removed, while the filter cake containing uranium is left behind.
e) The gold solution is mixed with zinc dust, a chemical reaction occurs and gold precipitates-out.
f) The gold is heated and melted down into gold bars ready for export.
g) The filter cake containing uranium is put in tanks of sulphuric acid and the acid dissolves the
uranium.
h) The solution is filtered and treated with chemicals to recover uranium.
i) Small amounts of silver may also be obtained alongside uranium.

Note: On average it requires crushing a tone of reef rock to obtain 8.2grams of gold.

Uses of Gold.

a) Gold is used as a medium of exchange.

b) Gold is also used as actual money in form of coins.
c) Gold is used to make jewelries and precious ornaments.
d) Gold is kept as a measure of the country’s value of currency by the treasury.
e) Gold may be used as gold leaf for gilding.
f) Gold may be used industrially to make tooth fillings.
g) Gold is used to make gold paints for crockery (tableware).
h) Gold is used to make gold compounds used in photographic materials.
i) Gold is kept in form of gold bars called bullions as financial security.

Diamond.

Diamond is not a metal but a precious stone. Just like gold, diamond has been valued by people for
centuries. It looks like a piece of ice and when it is cut, it glitters. It is highly valued because of its
transparent sparkling brilliance. It is also the hardest known substance.

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Occurrence of Diamonds.

Diamonds occur in volcanic plugs (pipes) of ancient volcanoes. It was formed after the magma that was
coming from the interior of the earth to the surface cooled and solidified inside the earth surrounded by
crustal rocks. Over millions of years, the old volcanoes were eroded along with parts of the plugs that
contained diamonds. This diamond was carried by rivers, either to the sea or was deposited together
with alluvium, on the river beds or banks. These are called alluvial diamonds. The land was left with the
ancient plugs, now exposed on the surface. These extend deep into the earth’s crust and are scattered
in various parts of South Africa.

Diamonds in South Africa.

In South Africa, the first diamond containing rock was discovered around the present day town of
Kimberley. The rock containing diamond is thus, called Kimberlite or Blue Ground and the volcanic plugs
are called Kimberlite Pipes. It is important to note that diamond does not form in all volcanic plugs and
where it does, it is very scarce compared to the quantity of rock in which it is found. Of the nine
provinces of South Africa, only three do not have diamonds reserves.

South Africa is now in 2021, the 8th largest producer of diamonds. In 2012, it produced about 7.2million
carats which was 6% of the world production, making it the 8th then after Russia, (27%), Botswana
(16%), D.R.C (16%) etc. the six provinces of south Africa with diamond reserves and mines are Free
State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Northern Cape And North West Cape.

Diamond Exploitation in South Africa.

In South Africa, diamonds were first discovered by children who were playing along the banks of the
Orange River. Later it was discovered that the rock from which the diamonds came was on the poor-
unproductive farmlands in the present day Kimberley. Diamond mining towns in South Africa are Port
Nolloth, (in the Far West Rand), Kimberley, Prieska, Johannesburg, Bultfontein, Jaggersfontein,
Koffiefontein, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein, and Hope Town (in the Rand).

Currently diamond mining is by shafts and tunnels just like gold is. Open cast method was abandoned in
Kimberley because mines had increasing incidents of falling rock and filling up with water. Shafts are
sunk about 300meters from the plug itself. Horizontal tunnels are then dug at levels different towards
the plugs. The rock containing diamond is quite hard and so it is excavated by blasting. However, where
the plugs are still exposed on the surface, they are excavated by open cast method, for example, near
Postmasburg, West of Kimberley. Alluvial diamond mining is done by small scale miners.

Diamond Processing In South Africa.

When the ore containing diamond is brought to the surface, it is taken to the processing plant. In the
plant, the ore is crushed into small pieces and then washed in water to remove some dirt. The wet
rock containing diamond is placed onto a rotating table that is covered with grease, and with water
flowing over it. Grease repels water so that the wet rock pieces will slide off the table as waste-while
diamonds stick on the grease because they do not get wet. The diamonds are removed from the table
when it is stopped from rotating. The table is stopped frequently to remove the diamonds.

Note: It is estimated that one piece of diamond is collected in every 3millon pieces of rock of similar size.

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Uses of Diamonds

(a) The best and most valuable diamonds are used to make jewelry. These diamonds are referred to
as gemstones and they vary in appearance. Some are colorless while others are may be pale
blue, pinkish or greenish. Some gemstones are cut in Cape Town and sold as finished products.
(b) In industries, diamonds are used to cut metal and glass and for drilling rock. The drills used to
cut through rocks during oil or water drilling have their tips fitted with diamonds. The lower
quality diamonds in terms of appearance are used for this purpose.
(c) Diamond powder is used for polishing metals.

Other minerals in South Africa include the following:

Iron Ore Resources in South Africa.

The rand industrial and mining conurbation has plenty of very good iron ore nearer than that of Eswatini
(Swaziland). South Africa is fortunately able to use much of its iron ore. The mines at Thabazimbi supply
the iron ore to iron and steel industries at the Rand towns. South Africa has its own iron and steel
industry. Large deposits occur in Pretoria, Middleburg, Waterberg and North Western Cape.

Coal Resources in South Africa.

South Africa has large reserves of coal. The South African coal is used to generate electricity alongside
other sources of power. Southern Transvaal is the leading coal producing state or province in South
Africa. Huge deposits also occur at Witbank, Vereeniging and Middleburg in the Rand as well Springs,
Utrecht, Belfast, New Castle and Glencoe.

Platinum is mined at Rustenburg, Uranium is mined at Johannesburg, Limestone is mined at Marble

Hall, and Chromium is mined at Rustenburg while oil is mined at Mosel Bay on the Indian Ocean Coast.

Factors That Have Led To the Growth and Development of the Mining Industry in South Africa.

There is a wide variety of mineral deposits which encourages investments in the mining sector due to
being economically viable. South Africa has the largest known reserves of gold and diamonds. These
large deposits have attracted government funding and various local as well as foreign mining companies.
Diamond is found at Kimberley while gold is found at Witwatersrand. This forms a belt of about 400km
long centering on the city of Johannesburg. Others are at Odendaalsrus, Lydenburg, Krugersdorp,
Klerksdorp, Vierfontein, and springs, Carletonville, Randfontein, Benoni, Brakpan, Boksburg,
Germiston and Heidelberg. The gold also covers Orange Free State and Transvaal Provinces, the Far
East fields near the Mpumalanga border, the newest gold fields in the Orange Free State Province.
There are also gold reserves in Limpopo and Northern KwaZulu-Natal Provinces. The six provinces of
South Africa with proven diamond reserves are Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Northern Cape and
North West Cape Diamond is found at Port Nolloth, Kimberley, Prieska, Johannesburg, Bultfontein,
Jaggersfontein, Koffiefontein, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein, and Hope Town. Coal in Southern Transvaal,
Witbank, Vereeniging and Middleburg, springs, Utrecht, Belfast, New Castle and Glencoe. Platinum is
mined at Rustenburg, Uranium is mined at Johannesburg, Limestone is mined at Marble Hall, and
Chromium is mined at Rustenburg while oil is mined at Mosel Ba. Iron ore mines are at Thabazimb,
large deposits occur in Pretoria, Middleburg, Waterberg and North Western Cape..

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The presence of high quality and highly valuable minerals produced such as gold and diamond. Gold
commands a high level of demand since it is a very precious metal as an international currency and for
decoration of jewelries. Diamonds are used in the Rand industries as a cutting material (due to its
hardest nature). Diamonds are also used as materials for polishing as well as in jewelries. The high grade
of most of South Africa’s deposits attract many companies and encourages mining investment.

There is availability of large quantities of power and energy supply such as coal which is used for
smelting and refining of minerals. For example, the Anglo-American Corporation has been engaged in
the processing of gold at Witwatersrand and diamond at Kimberley, Vereeniging and Transvaal. There is
hydro-electricity generated at Vaal Dam, Bloemhof Dam, Vanderkloof Dam, Gariep Dam and Hardrick
Verwoerd Dam which is found on river orange. Uranium near Johannesburg generates nuclear power.
This in turn, attracts various mining companies.

There is presence of large water supply from both underground and surface sources such as River Vaal
and river Orange. These water sources are necessary for refining some minerals such as diamonds. The
water is also used for domestic use in the labor camps. This also encourages further investment in the
mining industry.

The rapid development and encouragement of the industrial sector in Witwatersrand towns of the rand
and other places has led to the growth and development of the mining industry in South Africa. These
industries use minerals as raw materials. For example, the iron and steel industries using iron ore as a
raw material. Others are engineering and electronics. This enhances mineral exploitation and processing
due to the available immediate market in the various industries.

There is a large source of both skilled and semi-skilled labor employed in the mining sector. Cheap labor
to work in the mines is provided by the black and colored local people of Witwatersrand, Orange Free
State, Transvaal and Vereeniging as well as migrant labor from neighboring countries of Lesotho,
Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi amongst others. Fortunately, South Africa
pays fairer wages than other countries. The foreign companies brought in many skilled workers and
trained local people to acquire the necessary skills such as geologists who carry out mineral exploration,
mining engineers and supervisors.

There is a reliable source of adequate capital resources that was invested in the mining sector provided
by the government, foreign and local companies. These are investing in the exploration, survey,
exploitation and processing as well as refining of minerals such as coal, gold, diamond, iron ore, uranium
and other minerals such as platinum. The Anglo-American corporation is the main foreign corporation
engaged in the mining of gold. This promotes the growth of the mining sector.

The availability of high level of technology led to the growth and development of the mining industries.
The high level of technology used was imported by foreign companies. This involves earth movers,
caterpillars, bull dozers and cranes. Most mines began as open cast mines but of today, underground
mining is also used by deep level miners. There is also alluvial or placer mining such as alluvial diamond
deposits. Modern mineral processing technology is used and all this in turn increases quality and
quantity of mineral production.

There is availability of a large market base for minerals and mineral products from both domestic and
international. Gold as part of the internationally acceptable currency reserve has an enviable ready

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market especially in industrialized countries in Europe, Asia (Japan and China), and North America
amongst others. It should also be noted that South Africa exports minerals and mineral products to
African countries. Besides, the Rand is a major industrial region of South Africa and yet there is a huge
concentration of minerals in the same area. This offers immediate market for such minerals such as
gold, diamonds, coal, platinum amongst others. This has therefore, promoted more investment in the
mining industry.

There is availability of cheap, reliable and well developed transport and communication network which
has led to the growth and development of the mining sector in South Africa. South Africa has the most
developed transport network in Africa. It is virtually comparable to the communication system in Europe
and North America. The networks include the roads, railways, ports and airport or air terminals. For
example, the railway line from Cape Town to St. Lucia to Johannesburg and to Pretoria. These facilitate
the movement of minerals ore from mining centers to processing centers and mineral products to
export ports such as Durban, Port Elizabeth as well as Mosel Bay Port, Port Nolloth amongst other
terminals. These transport connectivity increase the mining investments.

There is availability of favorable and supportive government policies towards the mining sector. Due to
the Apartheid in the past, South Africa was isolated by economic sanctions and this gave the country an
opportunity to develop most of the sectors of the economy to promote self-reliance including the
mining sector. The government was and is able to set up the necessary transport and communication
infrastructure, creation of markets and economic liberalization which has allowed many private
companies into the mining industry (since the end of the Apartheid).

There has been increased intensive research and discovery of more valuable mineral exploitation,
exploration, prospecting and later mineral refining. This also in turn promotes the quality and quality of
mineral production.

There has been relative political stability since 1994 after the end of the Apartheid. The country has
remained stable which has encouraged many local and foreign investors in mineral exploration,
extraction and processing as well as encouraging trade in mineral and mineral products since security of
investment is assured.

There is availability of reliable source of food stuffs which has led to the growth and development of the
mining industry in South Africa. For example, the gold fields of Witwatersrand are well served with
modern transport networks linked to the rich agricultural zones or belts. Therefore, there is easy
provision of food stuffs to the miner workers.

There is a large presence of foreign investors in South Africa which has led to the development of the
mining industry. It is the South African government policy to attract foreign investors into the mining
industry. For example, the Anglo-American Corporation which has invested in gold mining and
processing in the Orange Free State. The British investors own, by far, the largest interests, the United
States, Germany and other western countries also have sizable assets in the Republic of South Africa.

The occupation of white settlers in South Africa led to the exploration, prospecting, exploitation and
refining of the minerals at the Rand Conurbation. The occupancy of the area by white settlers who had
both the capital and technological skills largely contributed to the development of the mining industry in
South Africa.

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The mode of formation of the South African mineral resources made it possible to carry out mining at
ease in the inception. Gold grains for example, are concentrated in reefs in very hard quartzite or quartz
pebble conglomerates called ‘banket’ in Afrikaans language. Gold is also found in re-distributed
sediments. The reefs surrounded by barren rock vary in thickness from a few centimeters to about
3meters. The basal reef in the Orange Free State province is only 19centimetres thick and dips steeply
at an average depth of 1,000 meters from the surface. In some areas gold appears or occurs together
with Uranium. This makes it profitable to mine it. Diamonds occur in volcanic plugs of ancient volcanoes.
The erosion of the ancient volcanoes along with parts of the plugs that contained diamonds exposed
diamonds in river beds and banks. These are also called alluvial diamonds. It was therefore, easy to carry
out mining from the exposed minerals.

The Role of the Mining Industry to the Economic Development of South Africa.

Positive contribution

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of South Africa through promoting the
inflow of foreign exchange. South Africa’s major exports comprise minerals, machinery and equipment.
Since minerals account for a bigger percentage of exports, gold therefore, is a major foreign exchange
earner. Gold contributes immensely to the country’s foreign exchange inflow. In 2013, gold reserves
were valued at US$ 48.46billions. Part of his income is used in improving other sectors of the economy.
A substantial amount of foreign exchange is also earned from the exports of diamonds to European
countries of Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, the U.K and Asian countries such as Japan, China as
well as North American countries such as Canada, USA.

The mining industry is a major employer, providing employment to cover half a million people, both
South Africa and Foreigners from neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia,
Botswana, Swaziland and Mozambique. This has raised the standards of the people of the republic of
South Africa. The jobs are created in the various stages of mineral exploitation ranging from extraction,
exploitation, processing, refining, transportation and exportation. Many people are employed in the
mining sector. Through income that the workers earn, there is improvement in the standards of living
through building better houses, accessing better education and health services.

The establishment of the mines in these provinces has led to the development of towns. The growth of
these towns has led to the great demand of the agricultural and industrial produce and products. As the
population increases in these towns or urban centers, a number of facilities come up, such as banking,
insurance, education, health centers, and recreation, entertainment and research facilities.

There has been growth and development of social and economic infrastructures such as schools,
colleges, research stations, roads, railways, amongst others. The profits accruing from the sale of
minerals and mineral products have been used for the expansion of infrastructure. This has resulted in
cheaper and faster movement of goods, people and services which have led to improved services
delivery. For example, today, South Africa has the most advance roads and railway networks in Africa,
they are comparable to those of Europe and North America. These routes were initially put in place to
link mining areas with processing centers as well as export terminals. These networks have not only
supported the mining sector but also other activities such as industry, farming, and service amongst
others.

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The mining industry has led to the growth and development of industries, gold, diamond, platinum and
other minerals being a raw material in the industries that make jewelries and other highly valuable items
has promoted industrial expansion. Mining has led to the promotion of gold refineries, diamond has
promoted the emergency of diamond cutting industries, the large deposits of iron ore have led to the
development of iron and steel industries. These industries have also led to the development of
secondary industries such as electrical, machinery, mechanical and transportation which all provide jobs
to many people.

Since gold co-exists with uranium, South Africa has become a leading producer of uranium for atomic
energy. This has contributed to the availability of power which is environmentally acceptable.

Mining has contributed to the acquisition and development of industrial mining skills that are useful in
other sectors of the economy. Mining has therefore, spurred technological advancement. Mining has led
to the development of other sectors such as agriculture, trade and commerce- given the linkage with
such sectors. For example, the mining sector provides market for the agricultural sector through buying
food for the miners. This in turn, increases the national income.

Mining has led to the facilitation of technological development and research in the country through use
of modern mining methods such as underground mining and standardization of industrial processing
technology to improve the quality and quantity of products such as chemicals, electronics, jewelries and
diamonds.

The mining industry has promoted the diversification of the economy due to the development of the
mining sector and related industry which supplements on the number of economic activities. It has
therefore, reduced over dependency on few sectors such as agriculture; there by expanding the
economic base and national income.

The mining industry has led to the promotion of good international relationships that are cordial, it has
promoted cooperation between South Africa other countries such as the countries where mining
companies originate, countries importing the minerals and associated industrial products and they
include the USA, U.K, EU, Japan, China, The Russian Federation, South America and the rest of Africa.
This has increased trade and economic contacts with those countries-hence more capital inflow. Gold
for example, being a medium of exchange is used by South Africa to settle international debts.

The dolomites overlying the gold ores contain large quantities of water. This water is pumped out of the
mines and is used to irrigate fruits, wheat and Lucerne farms.

The mining industry facilitates capital accumulation such as gold mining which boosts the country’s GNP
of South Africa. In 2013, gold exports generated about US$ 48billion dollars. The strong linkage between
mining and manufacturing has increased the export earnings. As a result, this has raised valuable capital
to invest in various sectors and tourism sector.

The mining industry has led to the generation of government revenue in the Republic of South Africa.
This revenue comes from the taxation of gold, platinum, uranium, iron ore and coal mining companies.
The government also taxes the incomes of workers employed in the mining sector and the related
industry. The revenue realized is invested in various sectors such as fishing, manufacturing industry and
vine growing.

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The mining industry is a source of power and energy supply such as the mining of coal. gold. These areas
have supplemented the supply of power for both domestic and industrial use. It should be noted that
South Africa is the leading producer of coal in Africa. This coal helps to supplement other sources of
power and energy such as hydroelectric power, thermal power, hence contributing to the general
development of the whole country of the Republic of South Africa.

Gold mining in the Gauteng province, diamond mining in the six provinces, coal and others minerals has
increased South Africa’s international standing in terms of respect and recognition. This international
recognition is a source of advertisement of South Africa which attracts a large number of foreign
investors. It should be noted that South Africa is often referred to as the land of gold because one time
dominating world production of gold.

Mineral exploitation in South Africa has led to an increase in population numbers within the eastern
port of the country. Such an increase in population numbers has been the basis of the present high level
of economic activities that characterize the gold cities of South Africa. This economic status of South
Africa has made her to play an important role in Africa in terms of political, social and economic
processes.

Negative contributions of the mining industry.

The mining industry has led to dereliction which results from the ruthless exploitation of natural
resources without consideration for the future. In particular, most dereliction is the result of thoughtless
and uncontrollable mineral extraction and exploitation. Derelict land is theoretically land which has
been abandoned as useless or as too badly damaged to repay private person to improve it. Derelict
lands are ugly, denude of vegetation, laced with stagnant pools of water or covered with mine tailing or
slag.

Mining leads to the destruction of the landscape, leaving adits, shafts, quarries and heaps of soil or rock
waste. This gives rise to extensive areas of wasteland. For example, the soil heaps from the gold Rand
near Johannesburg. The extensive mining in the Orange Free State led to the destruction and disfiguring
of the landscape. The abandoned mines, ditches, quarries and heaps of soil have created an ugly
landscape and large areas of wasteland such as heaps from gold mines near Johannesburg.

Mining leads to pollution of the environment, that is, air, water and noise pollution. For example, coal
mining destroys underground water and lakes. In addition, the dust from the various mines pollutes the
air hence causing deadly disease in the Rand cities and in areas of the Free State Province.

Mining is associated with frequent occurrence of mining accidents. For example, the sinking of soils,
patches of soils covering miners, collapsing of mine roofs, all these lead to the innumerable death of
miners. Land over underground mines may subside, causing houses to collapse or creating hummocky
ground unsuitable for any use and often full of pools of water. Shafts that are not filled in may lead to
accidents and old quarries and opencast pits may also be dangerous. Open cast mines which are
afterwards, flooded with water such as alluvial diamond mines at port Nolloth and gravel pits are often
very deep and therefore, dangerous. These lead to accidents on children. Tips heaps too cause special
hazards. Tip heaps of surrounding slag are also dangerous and tips of waste materials may contain large
amounts toxic materials which could be harmful to health.

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Mining has also led to wastage of industrial land. Where derelict land is in or near towns, it could be
profitably used for factories or housing if reclaimed. In fact, the derelict land often promotes urban
sprawl by forcing the town to expand in other directions sometimes at the expanse of agricultural land
and dereliction is a deterrent to modern development. Any new factory set up in the area would find it
difficult to obtain workers, especially skilled or managerial staff who would not wish to live in such
unpleasant surroundings.

Mining has led to the ugliness of towns. People who love in areas where there is derelict land have no
pride in their towns. They do not like their homes nor gardens and such people in derelict mining towns
lose a sense of beauty of the natural environment. Those people whose reactions are not deadened and
indifferent tend to migrate away from such unpleasant areas. This however, leads to urban sprawl in
other towns and general spread of man-made landscape at the expense of natural landscape.

Mining has promoted permanent damage to the landscape. In mining towns where derelict mines are
not rehabilitated much beautiful scenery may be spoiled. Heaps of rock waste in gold mines of the rand
have ruined the landscape in the rand and in the Free State province. The destruction of the natural
beauty not only affects the aesthetic appeal of landscape but also damages its tourist potential.

Mining in South Africa has led to the emergency of ghost towns where minerals have been exhausted
and this has forced people to move from some minerals centers such as Johannesburg, Germiston,
Pretoria, Vereeniging to newly discovered areas with minerals to other small towns where there are
more mining prospects. Modern planned settlements of higher costs have apparently been abandoned
in areas of abandoned mines.

Mining is also associated with a multiplicity of urban related problems and social ills. For example, urban
problems in Johannesburg include; sprawling shanty slum growth, for example, Soweto, there is also
high crime rates such as rape, theft, robbery, gang violence, homicides, xenophobic attacks against
migrant workers and unplanned settlement units as well as high rate of prostitution. It is very costly for
government to eradicate these urban related problems in these mining towns.

It should be noted that for the case of South Africa, the discovery of minerals such as gold in the Rand,
at Johannesburg, diamond at Kimberley and the rest of the six provinces of South Africa increased the
urge by foreign powers of political, economic and socio-cultural influence of South Africa. Earlier, after
the discovery of these major minerals, the British and the Boers displaced Africans from their land.
Today, there are about 9% of the South Africans of white descent and majority of them are engaged in
the lucrative exploitation processes.

Most of the mining activities of gold at Johannesburg and diamond at Kimberley and other and other
places are operated by foreign transnational companies such as Anglo-America. This reduces the rate of
re-investment in the South African economy and promotes illicit profit repatriation to Europe and North
American countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

Mining in the mining provinces has created regional imbalance. Mining cities of the Gauteng province
are more developed than mining cities in other provinces such as Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and
Mpumalanga provinces where there are no diamond mines whose cities remained small for quite long
time.

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The Witwatersrand mining conurbation has resulted into high rates of uncontrollable population has
resulted into high rates of uncontrollable population migrations into the mines. This has been a major
source of social and political problems such as unemployment, poverty, shortage of essential services
especially in the Bantustan quarters, slum growth and high rate of urban violence. In the mines
themselves, there has been frequent outbreak of labor unrest due to deplorable living conditions and
low wages.

The mining industry in South Africa has led to the loss of bio-diversity through clearing of forests and
other vegetables for mining space as well as through dumping of waste of rocks. All these lead to loss of
bio-diversity as the flora and fauna of the area are destroyed. While some fauna may be forced to
relocate, the habitat of the indigenous organisms are destroyed.

The scars left behind especially where open cast mining has taken place expose the land to agents of soil
erosion. Exposure of bare land enables soil erosion to take place easily which renders the land entirely
unproductive.

The mining activities of both on the ground surface and the underground result in the lowering of the
water table when it is exposed. Thus, a lot of water flows away. This leads to shortage of water in an
area and as a result the vegetation in the area may dry up. The area may become semi-arid due to this.

Some mining areas produce a lot of dust and smoke, thus causing a lot of air pollution. The mining and
processing of some minerals such as iron ore at Thabazimbi, new castle, Glencoe, limestone at Marble
Hall used in the manufacture of cement produces a lot of dust and smoke. The vegetation and the
people in such are affected. Continued blasting and the noise produced by the machinery at work cause
a lot of pollution. Toxic gases emitted from the mines pollute the surrounding air while water pumped
from underground mines may pollute water sources on the surface.

Acid mine drainage has been extensively recorded in parts of Mpumalanga, most notably where the
Wilge River flows into Loskop Dam. In addition dust produced during mining operations is generally
injurious to health and causes the lung disease known as black lung or pneumoconiosis.

Some minerals have a low demand and hence are just a stockpile. For example, since the end of the cold
war, in 1989, the demand for uranium, a source of atomic energy and potentially atomic bombs, though
mined at Johannesburg, its market reduced, hence less income derived from it. Minerals such as sand,
aggregates and cement grade limestone occur widely. They are henceforth seldom traded on the world
market.

Mining in Johannesburg and other cities of the Rand lead to neglect of other sectors of the economy
such as agriculture in Transvaal province and KwaZulu Natal since more able-bodied youth move for
better paying job in the mines.

Problems Faced By the Mining Industry in South Africa (Factors Limiting the Growth and Development
of the Mining Industry in Developing Countries).

It is important to note that up to the present, countries of the developed world continue to dominate
world trade and processing of mineral resources at the expense of the developing world, more
particularly, the tropical countries of Africa and Latin America. Examples of mineral rich states or
countries include USA, China, Russian Federation, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Australia, Canada,

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Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and many others. The political dominance of these nation states results from
their economic strength or prowess. The only economic strength of the developed nations such as South
Africa, D.R.C, Zambia, Libya, Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, to mention but a few relies in part, on their
privileged access and bounty of nature to valuable domestic mineral reserves as is the case in
Venezuela, Iraq, Iran with oil reserves.

The strength of the developed world serves in their favor to give them an edge over the minerals o the
countries in the tropical African and Latin and American countries and the rest of the developing world
in the Middle Eastern countries and Mediterranean Africa. Several factors therefore, help to account
for the continued failure of countries in developing nations at improving their mining sectors. These
factors include the following:

Minerals in tropical countries occur in small size in their deposits. Most mineral deposits have small
quantities that they may not be viable and economic to exploit because they can run out in a few years.
It may be uneconomical to exploit or install expensive equipment or machinery, For example, iron ore in
Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, C.A.R and gold in Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Liberia. This discourages
many investors in the mining industry. The Zambia copper mines for example, face a danger of
exhaustion of copper ore in the foreseeable future due to high rates of exploitation. This may be too
risky a situation for Zambia-an economy without any viable alternative exports which can potentially
slow economic growth. It should even be noted that some mines in Zambia have been closed due to the
exhaustion of the copper ore, for example, Bwana Mkubwa.

The low grades of some minerals in some countries of tropical Africa and Latin America has made it
difficult for investors to set-up mines in such areas. The Zambia and D.R.C in Katanga (Shaba) province.
Because a large percentage of the mineral ore become waste material, copper mining attracts less
investment. In Tanzania, the quality of diamond varies and some are of low grade hence, it is
increasingly more economical to exploit or to install expensive machinery such as iron ore in Zimbabwe,
Kenya, C.A.R, and Uganda, gold in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. East Africa has a variety of minerals
that seem to be in small quantities and uneconomical to be mined. Some of these minerals are of low
grades, hence have low demand at the world markets. This has made it uneconomical to exploit such
minerals as uranium, iron ore, gold, tungsten, wolfram among others.

The great depth of some minerals has led to the low level of mineral prospecting, exploration,
exploitation and processing in developing countries. Most minerals exist at great depth in the
underground and hence very expensive to exploit. They are subjected to a thick overlying burden such
as coal, diamonds, iron ore and copper. This increases the cost of exploitation since it requires
sophisticated technology such as shafts/underground mining methods and involves a lot of risks which
Africans may not be able to undertake.

There are many risks involved in the mining sector. The mining conditions are not appealing and this is
partly attributed to the deep overlying burden which can bury the miners/exploiters, high level of
pollution involved in form of noise and air pollution which causes deadly diseases. All these scare away
workers and potential investors in the mining sector in tropical Africa.

Most tropical African and Latin American countries export their minerals as crude ores or raw materials.
East African countries such as Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania rarely add value to their minerals. The
mining and sale of raw ores caused by the low level of industrial development in these countries leads to

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low earnings from minerals. They earn less than what would be earned if they had undertaken mineral
processing and refinement. Therefore, the high costs of production are not compensated by the high
value in terms of exported ores which weakens and undermines tropical mining especially in Africa. For
example, copper mining in the D.R.C and Zambia and other countries.

The remoteness or distance of a mineral deposit from either the processing centers or transport hub
such as the coast. Most deposits in tropical continental Africa, for example, iron ore and coal in
southern Tanzania, copper in the land locked country of Zambia, copper in the Shaba or Katanga
province of the D.R.C, copper in the land locked Uganda, oil in Lake Turkana, Lake Albert, The DRC
amongst others. Therefore, the long distance travelled and the scarcity of viable transport
infrastructures has limited mineral production and mineral trade in tropical African countries despite
having enormous mineral potential. The dense tropical forests in Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda and
the D.R.C has made the development of transport systems pretty difficult.

There is low level of adoption of modern, user-friendly and cheap technologies for productive and
economic mining methods. The low level of technology used in the extraction of some minerals in
tropical African countries such as Gabon, Liberia, sierra Leone, Zambia, the D.R.C and East Africa has
made it pretty difficult to expand the mining operations especially in case of small scale underground
mining for copper, oil drilling, coal and diamond as well as gold. Moreover, the small operations make
mineral exploitation using modern technology unprofitable and very expensive, yet even most countries
of Africa cannot afford to purchase expensive equipment such as a derrick for oil mining in Uganda,
Kenya and the D.R.C.

Tropical African and Latin American countries face a problem of inadequate capital resources to invest in
the economic exploitation of the minerals such as bauxite which needs large amounts of electricity for
final production of aluminum itself, in Ghana, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. The delayed exploitation of oil
in the Uganda Albertine Basin and Lake Turkana in Kenya was due to the inadequate capital resources.
the purchase of mining equipment, building smelting and mineral processing plants as well as associated
infrastructures are all expensive to most African countries. Mineral survey and mineral mapping and
prospecting requires a lot of funds and expensive gadgets which may not be available in tropical African
countries.

Tropical African and Latin American countries face a problem of limited and technical labor force to
work in the mining sector. Tropical African countries do not have many competent engineers, geologists
and other scientists to develop and manage mineral exploitation more economically. This is also
attributed to the poorly developed training in mineral exploitation and the general education system in
tropical countries which trains theoretically. This also explains why these countries continue relying on
expatriate personnel. There is inadequate skilled manpower to undertake mineral exploitation since the
required equipment and machinery are also inadequate.

There is a problem of price fluctuation of mineral products on the world market. Prices of some tropical
mineral products have fluctuated more in the recent past leading to uncertain incomes. For example,
the prices of copper declined more in the 1980s such that even earnings from it reduced tremendously
such as Zambia and the D.R.C causing unfavorable terms of trade, hence limiting further investment in
mining. By the mid-1980s, Zambia was highly or heavily indebted to the IMF due to a balance of
payment crisis. The collapse of the copper prices due to aluminum substitute led to the closure of the
Kilembe Copper Mines in Uganda in the 1970s.

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There is limited market for tropical minerals. Many other countries of the developed world that would
import tropical minerals have huge deposits of such minerals with better mining tools. For example,
Copper exists in huge quantities in the USA, Russian Federation, Canada, and China and yet there are
also huge deposits of Coal in Germany, USA, and Russian Federation, all of which further reduces the
market for tropical minerals. Some tropical minerals have low market value, for example, lead and Zinc.

Minerals in Africa and some Latin American countries have not been fully exploited in many areas due to
political instability, for example, in C.A.R, D.R.C, and northern Uganda. Many minerals have not been
exploited and surveyed due to political insecurity and rebel insurgencies for decades limiting the
development of the mining industry. In the Northern, North Eastern parts of Kenya, cattle rustling by
armed warriors has caused a lot of insecurity in the area. This has greatly hampered the mapping and
exploitation of minerals in most parts of the country. Other tropical countries that have been affected in
this regard include Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Venezuela, Zambia, Gambia and Nigeria. These
countries have for a long time bee locked up in political squabbles and wars which negatively affects the
mining operations. The mineral wealth in Angola such as diamonds and Uranium, Iron Ore, Copper and
Manganese has not yet brought maximum benefit to the country because rebels have been selling the
minerals cheaply to American and European companies in order to obtain funds to buy fire arms.

Unfavorable government policies towards the mining sector has equally been profoundly significant in
limiting the mining activities in tropical African and Latin American countries. In many countries,
government efforts are directed towards many other sectors and providing social services but limited
investment done in the mining sector, after all some countries have less economic potential currently in
terms of minerals or their known reserves. Some governments also discourage foreign investors through
high taxes and failure to maintain transport and other crucial infrastructures.

There is a problem of inadequate and low level of development of power and energy sources in most
tropical African countries. The exploitation and processing of some minerals requires colossal or large
amounts of electricity. However, many potential power generation plants have not been established and
the existing ones have low voltage which further undermines the performance of the mining sector in
tropical Africa and Latin America.

There is low level of research in the mining sector in tropical Africa and Latin America. There is
inadequate mineral exploration to discover new mineral potential, partly attributed to inadequate
funding and limited manpower. Therefore, many minerals are not known to exist and thus low level of
mineral development is the effect despite the fact that there may be a lot of minerals in the earth’s
crust but have not been fully established in terms of location, quality and quantity.

Some tropical African countries do not have adequate mineral resources that act as the springboard of
industrialization. Even where they may exist, they appear in small quantities. These minerals are; coal
that would spur the quantity and quality of energy production, iron ore which is key to the flourishment
of the iron and steel industries, oil for petro-chemical industries, where oil exists like Nigeria, Angola,
guinea, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Uganda, D.R.C, Kenya, Gabon, it is annoyingly exported in its crude state.
The failure to harness these key minerals led to the ripple effect of failure to take-off industrially, hence
for the, making it pretty difficult to provide internal market for tropical minerals.

There is stiff competition from major mining nations such as the USA, China, Russia, Canada, Germany
and South Africa. These countries are unfortunately the markets of minerals yet they themselves have

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established mining industries. Tropical African and tropical Latin American countries cannot afford to
gather the wherewithal to out compete these long established mining countries. Saudi Arabia, Russia,
USA, and Norway for example, dominate the oil industry and have since time immemorial, dictated oil
prices on the planet-earth.

There is a problem of shortage of water resources for use in the various mines which have been
established. If we are to use the case of South Africa, River Vaal which is the major source of water
supply to the large city of Johannesburg and the mines which have been established is now highly
overburdened in terms of water requirements.

There is problem of unfavorable terrain in some countries of tropical Africa and Latin America. Gabon
for example has a mountainous relief and rugged terrain in the mineral rich areas. This presents a great
challenge in relation to transport development. The rugged and mountainous relief is also heavily
forested making it worse to establish transport nodes. The southern highlands of Tanzania have also
made it pretty cumbersome to mine coal and other minerals because of the mountainous relief and
depressions such as the Ruhuhu Valley as well as the impassable areas of Tukuyu.

Some African countries are encouraging the nationalization of the mining centers on political grounds. A
case in point is Zambia and Venezuela in Latin America. For Zambia, the government is encouraging the
policy of nationalization of some mines. This however, is discouraging foreign investors who would come
into a given country with their own capital and would repatriate expatriate labor from their countries.

The Mining Industry in the Democratic Republic Of Congo (D.R.C)

Background

The DRC dominates the mining industry in Central Africa although other countries have a significant
share of the regions mining production. However, most of the mines were used by rebel groups to fuel
civil wars, which have hampered economic growth of the central African countries. A typical example is
the second DRC war notoriously known as the ‘Coltan’ War and the Greatest War of Africa. In Pearson
Atlas, 2013, Pages 117-118, it is recorded that “most of the countries have adhered to the Kimberley
process in order to avoid illegal trade from mines which funds rebel groups. Minerals like Coltan
(Columbite Tantalite) are very important materials for communication device such as mobile
telephones.”

Mineral Exploitation and Distribution.

The mining of copper, cobalt and other minerals in the copper belt of the Katanga (Shaba) Province of
the D.R.C has been going on since the early 20th Century and has brought in its train the development of
concentration and refining plants, industries serving the mines such as the manufacture of explosives
and other industrial development. In terms of mineral reserves the DRC is almost the leading country in
Africa with the largest mineral reserves. The DRC depends a great deal, on the income from the export
of minerals and mineral products. They form over 75% of the DRC’s export earnings. Most of the
minerals exported come from the mining province of Shaba, also known as Katanga.

The DRC produces almost all the minerals which appear in the earth’s crust. But the most important of
these are Copper, Gold, Diamond, Cobalt, Lead, Zinc, Uranium, Phosphates, Manganese, Potash, Iron
Ore, Oil or Petroleum, Tin, Bauxite, Silver, Coltan. Most of the minerals in the Shaba province have

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been fully exploited. These include Copper, Cobalt, Silver, Manganese, Lead and Zinc. Apart from
copper, the Katanga province of the DRC supplies a large proportion of the world‘s cobalt production. It
is a metal which is used in the manufacture of steel alloys. Kolwezi in the copper belt is the main center
for cobalt processing. Diamond mining is concentrated around the mining cities of Bakwanga, Tshikapa
among others. The two diamond mines are located in Kasai Province. At Tshikapa diamond mines, there
is production of gemstones where the bulk of DRC’S Industrial Diamond is produced at Bakwanga
Mines. Kilimoto to the extreme North East near the South Sudan Border is the major source of gold.
Gold Mines here are however, frequently interrupted by remoteness and the civil wars.

The Copper Mining Industry in the DRC.

Copper is an extremely useful metal for several reasons, namely; it does not break easily, it bends
instead and is increasingly easily molded into many different shapes. Copper is a very good conductor
of heat energy and an excellent conductor of electricity; in which its use in the industry is widespread. It
is unfortunately the world’s industrialized nations of the world; that is Western Europe, North America
and the Newly Industrialized Nations of South East Asia and Russia who use most of the copper. Of
these USA, Russia and Canada almost produce their own copper. Europe and Japan buys almost most of
the Africa’s copper, at a price which is, by all intent, and purposes, decided by them. The world’s copper
prices have been fluctuating in recent years due to the existence of a substitute in the form of
aluminum. To countries such as the DRC, copper production mines nearly operate at a loss.

The DRC is only rivaled by Zambia and Chile in copper export value. In the DRC, most copper is mined at
Kolwezi, Kipushi and Likasi. The production of DRC’s copper was made even greater with the coming
onboard of Tenke-Fugurume although the civil wars in the DRC and Angola have, of recent, hampered
such efforts. Copper reserves in the DRC are said to be in a range of around 50million tons of 5.7% ore,
potentially making the DRC-a major producer of copper in the world.

The mining and smelting of copper.

Copper occurs in pure state and also as compounds with sulphur and with oxygen. The most important
source of copper is copper sulphide which may have the copper content of 20%. Pure copper occurs in
small particles contained in rocks. These rocks are worth mining even if the copper content is as low as
1%. The world’s copper production comes from open cast workings, although underground mining y
shafts and adits is also used where the copper bearing seam or veins are buried underneath rocks.

Copper Processing.

After the copper ore is mined, it is concentrated and smelted and finally refined, the ores are
concentrated as near to the mines as possible in order to reduce transportation costs. Concentrated
ores usually have a copper content of 70%. The copper concentrates are known as matte copper. The
matte copper is further smelted to reduce it to almost pure copper, which is called blister copper. This
is done as near to the concentration plant as possible. In order to get pure copper, which is essential if
copper is to be used by electricity industry, the blister copper is refined by electrolysis. Refining copper
requires an abundant supply of electric power and this process is carried out near to this source of
power. In the DRC, copper smelting is done at Lubumbashi and at Likasi there is a concentrate refinery.

Factors That Have Led To the Growth and Development of the Mining Industry the D.R.C.

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The DRC holds vast quantities of the minerals that will be critical drivers of the Fourth industrial
Revolution (4IR). In 2018 studies reported a significant high grade lithium deposit, estimated to have the
potential of 1.5billion tons of lithium spodumene hard rock situated in Manono, Central DRC. Mining
lithium in the DRC is expected to have global significance with the upsurge of electric vehicles (EV)
battery industry allowing the DRC to further tap its vast mineral wealth.

The existence of minerals in the DRC that are ranked as most critical by the United States, Japan,
Republic of Korea and the European Union including the United Kingdom as follows, Rare Earth
Elements(REE), Gallium, Indium, Tungsten, Platinum Group Elements(including Platinum and
Palladium), Cobalt, Niobium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Chromium and Manganese. These minerals have
rejuvenated the mining industry in the DRC.

At the beginning of 2020, the DRC government announced the enterprise Generale Du Cobalt (EGC), the
State-owned miner GECAMINES becomes the state-controlled buyer of cobalt, to purchase and market
all cobalt from small-scale artisanal miners (accounting for 15 to 30% of cobalt production), that is not
mined industrially. This in effect will centralize the trade, help better regulate the industry in the DRC by
fighting mining fraud and maximize state revenues.

Following Joseph Kabila’s accession to power in 2001, the World Bank came back to the Congo to
support the reconstruction of the country’s economy devastated by years of war. The liberalization of
the mining sector was central to its strategy; it prescribed changes in the law to allow to attract new
foreign investors and organized the restructuring of state owned mining and industrial assets to new
joint venture projects with foreign private companies.

Following the rise in copper prices in 2004 investors of various sizes and origins flocked to the copper
belt to snatch up the company’s most promising assets. Ten years later, a dozen projects were found in
operation, producing a total of one million tons of copper (doubling GECAMINE’s production record of
1986) and three new underground projects were in the development phases.

There is a wide variety of mineral deposits which encourages investments in the mining sector due to
being economically viable. The D.R.C has the large reserves of gold, copper, coltan, and other minerals.
These large deposits have attracted government funding and various local as well as foreign mining
companies. For example, copper, cobalt in the Katanga (Shaba province). The DRC produces almost all
the minerals which appear in the earth’s crust. But the most important of these are Copper, Gold,
Diamond, Cobalt, Lead, Zinc, Uranium, Phosphates, Manganese, Potash, Iron Ore, Oil or Petroleum,
Tin, Bauxite, Silver and Coltan. The Katanga province of the DRC supplies a large proportion of the
world‘s cobalt production for steel alloys. Diamond mining is concentrated around the mining cities of
Bakwanga and Tshikapa. The two diamond mines are located in Kasai Province. At Tshikapa diamond
mines, there is production of gemstones where the bulk of DRC’S Industrial Diamond is produced at
Bakwanga Mines. Kilimoto to the extreme North East near the South Sudan Border is the major source
of gold. Most copper is mined at Kolwezi, Kipushi and Likasi.

The DRC is widely known to be the wealthiest country in the world, in the untapped resource wealth and
has an estimated US$24 trillion in untapped mineral deposits, including the world’s largest reserves of
coltan (where elements niobium and tantalum are extracted) and significant quantities of world’s cobalt
and lithium (producing 70% of global cobalt output).

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The presence of high quality and highly valuable minerals produced such as gold and diamond. Gold
commands a high level of demand since it is a very precious metal as an international currency and for
decoration of jewelries. Diamonds are used as a cutting material (due to its hardest nature). Diamonds
are also used as materials for polishing as well as in jewelries. The high grade of most of the D.R.C s
deposits attract many companies and encourages mining investment.

There is presence of large water supply from both underground and surface sources such as River River
Congo, River Ruzizi, River Lualaba, River M’pozo, River Inkisi (Zadi River), River Kasai, River Lukaya,
River Lukanga and River Ndjili. These water sources are necessary for refining some minerals such as
diamonds. The water is also used for domestic use in the labor camps. This also encourages further
investment in the mining industry especially in the Katanga Region.

The rapid development and encouragement of the industrial sector in the D.R.C towns such as
Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene, and furthest at Kinshasa and other places has led to the
growth and development of the mining industry in the D.R.C. These industries use minerals as raw
materials. For example, the gemstone industries at Bakwanga and Tshikapa. This enhances mineral
exploitation and processing due to the available immediate market in the various industries.

There is a large source of both skilled and semi-skilled labor employed in the mining sector. Cheap labor
to work in the mines is provided by the local people of Kolwezi, Tshikapa, Kasai, Bakwanga, Kilimoto
and Particularly Katanga Province as well as migrant labor from neighboring countries of Uganda, the
C.A.R, Gabon, Angola, Rwanda and West African Countries amongst others. The foreign companies
brought in many skilled workers and trained local people to acquire the necessary skills such as
geologists who carry out mineral exploration, mining engineers and supervisors.

There is a reliable source of adequate capital resources that was invested in the mining sector provided
by the government, foreign and local companies. These are investing in the exploration, survey,
exploitation and processing as well as refining of minerals such as Coal, Gold, and Diamond, Iron Ore,
Silver and other minerals such as Manganese. This has promoted the growth of the mining sector in the
D.R.C.

There is availability of high level of technology which has led to the growth and development of the
mining industries. The high level of technology used was imported by foreign companies. This involves
earth movers, caterpillars, bull dozers and cranes. Most mines began as open cast mines but of today,
underground mining is also used by deep level miners. There is also alluvial or placer mining such as
alluvial diamond deposits. Modern mineral processing technology is used and all this in turn increases
quality and quantity of mineral production.

There is availability of a large market base for minerals and mineral products from both domestic and
international. Gold as part of the internationally acceptable currency reserve has an enviable ready
market especially in industrialized countries in Europe, Asia (Japan and China), and North America
amongst others. It should also be noted that D.R.C exports minerals and mineral products to African
countries as well. Besides, the Katanga Province is a major industrial region of the D.R.C and yet there is
a huge concentration of minerals in the same area. This offers immediate market for such minerals such
as gold, diamonds, coal, silver amongst others. This has therefore, promoted more investment in the
mining industry.

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There is availability of cheap, reliable and well developed transport and communication network which
has led to the growth and development of the mining sector in the D.R.C. The country has many air
terminals such as N’Djili Airport, Lubumbashi International Airport, Kisangani-Bangoka International
Airport, Goma International Airport. The networks include the roads, railways and ports. Railway lines
include Katanga Line and Congo Ocean Railway Line while ports include Matadi. These facilitate the
movement of minerals ore from mining centers to processing centers and mineral products to export
ports. These transport connectivity increase the mining investments.

There is availability of favorable and supportive government policies towards the mining sector. Due to
the Dictatorship by Mobutu, first and second Congo Wars (the Coltan Wars), the D.R.C was isolated by
economic sanctions and this gave the country an opportunity to develop most of the sectors of the
economy to promote self-reliance including the mining sector. The government was and is able to set
up the necessary transport and communication infrastructure, creation of markets and economic
liberalization which has allowed many private companies into the mining industry.

There has been increased intensive research and discovery of more valuable mineral exploitation,
exploration, prospecting and later mineral refining. This also in turn promotes the quality and quality of
mineral production. The DRC produces almost all the minerals which appear in the earth’s crust. But the
most important of these are Copper, Gold, Diamond, Cobalt, Lead, Zinc, Uranium, Phosphates,
Manganese, Potash, Iron Ore, Oil or Petroleum, Tin, Bauxite, Silver and Coltan. The Katanga province
of the DRC supplies a large proportion of the world‘s cobalt production for steel alloys. Diamond mining
is concentrated around the mining cities of Bakwanga and Tshikapa

There has been relative political stability since the roll-out of a peaceful transfer of power from joseph
Kabila to Felix Tshisekedi in the 2020. The country has remained relatively stable which has encouraged
many local and foreign investors in mineral exploration, extraction and processing as well as
encouraging trade in mineral and mineral products since security of investment is assured.

There is availability of reliable source of food stuffs which has led to the growth and development of the
mining industry in the D.R.C. For example, the gold fields Kilimoto, diamond fields at Bakwanga and
Tshikapa are well served with modern transport networks linked to the rich agricultural zones or belts.
Therefore, there is easy provision of food stuffs to the mine workers.

There is a large presence of foreign investors in the D.R.C which has led to the development of the
mining industry. It is the D.R.C government policy to attract foreign investors into the mining industry.
For example, foreign companies which has invested in gold mining and processing.

The mode of formation of the D.R.C mineral resources made it possible to carry out mining at ease in
the inception. Gold grains for example, are concentrated in reefs in very hard quartzite or quartz pebble
conglomerates. Gold is also found in re-distributed sediments. In some areas gold appears or occurs
together with Uranium. This makes it profitable to mine it. Diamonds occur in volcanic plugs of ancient
volcanoes. The erosion of the ancient volcanoes along with parts of the plugs that contained diamonds
exposed diamonds in river beds and banks. These are also called alluvial diamonds. It was therefore,
easy to carry out mining from the exposed minerals.

There is availability of large quantities of power and energy supply such as hydroelectric power which is
used for smelting and refining of minerals. For example, copper refining at Kolwezi, diamond processing

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of gemstones at Tshikapa. There is hydro-electricity generated at Inga I and II, Nseke hydroelectric
Power Stations along River Lualaba, Ruzizi II, along River Ruzizi dams. The country has vast potential in
hydroelectricity, the second stage of the hydroelectric dam was completed in 1982 on the Lower Congo
River at Inga Falls, with a large portion of power supplying hydroelectricity to the mining industry and
Kinshasa. Further plans are to build the proposed 11,050MW Inga III hydroelectric power project with
the construction of two dams. This is expected to lead to the development of the DRC’s mining sector.

The Role of the Mining Industry to the Economic Development of D.R.C.

Positive contribution

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of the D.R.C through promoting the inflow
of foreign exchange. The DRC’s major exports comprise minerals and agricultural produce. Since
minerals account for a bigger percentage of exports, gold therefore, is a major foreign exchange earner.
Gold contributes immensely to the country’s foreign exchange inflow. Part of this income is used in
improving other sectors of the economy. A substantial amount of foreign exchange is also earned from
the exports of diamonds to European countries of Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, the U.K and
Asian countries such as Japan, China as well as North American countries such as Canada, USA.

The mining industry is a major employer, providing employment to cover a large number of people, both
from the D.R.C and from neighboring countries. This has raised the standards of the people of the D.R.C.
The jobs are created in the various stages of mineral exploitation ranging from extraction, exploitation,
processing, refining, transportation and exportation. Many people are employed in the mining sector.
Through income that the workers earn, there is improvement in the standards of living through building
better houses, accessing better education and health services.

The establishment of the mines in these provinces has led to the development of towns. The growth of
these towns has led to the great demand of the agricultural and industrial produce and products. As the
population increases in these towns or urban centers, a number of facilities come up, such as banking,
insurance, education, health centers, and recreation, entertainment and research facilities.

There has been growth and development of social and economic infrastructures such as schools,
colleges, research stations, roads, railways, amongst others. The profits accruing from the sale of
minerals and mineral products have been used for the expansion of infrastructure. This has resulted in
cheaper and faster movement of goods, people and services which have led to improved services
delivery. These routes were initially put in place to link mining areas with processing centers as well as
export terminals. These networks have not only supported the mining sector but also other activities
such as industry, farming, and service amongst others.

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of industries, gold, diamond, platinum and
other minerals being a raw material in the industries that make jewelries and other highly valuable items
has promoted industrial expansion. Mining has led to the promotion of gold refineries, diamond has
promoted the emergency of diamond cutting industries, and the large deposits of Diamonds have
Promoted Gemstone Industries. These industries have also led to the development of secondary
industries such as electrical, machinery, mechanical and transportation which all provide jobs to many
people.

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Mining has contributed to the acquisition and development of industrial mining skills that are useful in
other sectors of the economy. Mining has therefore, spurred technological advancement. Mining has led
to the development of other sectors such as agriculture, trade and commerce- given the linkage with
such sectors. For example, the mining sector provides market for the agricultural sector through buying
food for the miners. This in turn, increases the national income.

Mining has led to the facilitation of technological development and research in the country through use
of modern mining methods such as underground mining and standardization of industrial processing
technology to improve the quality and quantity of products such as chemicals, electronics, jewelries and
diamonds.

The mining industry has promoted the diversification of the economy due to the development of the
mining sector and related industry which supplements on the number of economic activities. It has
therefore, reduced over dependency on few sectors such as agriculture; there by expanding the
economic base and national income.

The mining industry has led to the promotion of good international relationships that are cordial, it has
promoted cooperation between the D.R.C and other countries such as the countries where mining
companies originate, countries importing the minerals and associated industrial products and they
include the USA, U.K, EU, Japan, China, The Russian Federation, South America and the rest of Africa.
This has increased trade and economic contacts with those countries-hence more capital inflow. Gold
for example, being a medium of exchange is used by the D.R.C to settle international debts.

The mining industry facilitates capital accumulation such as gold mining which boosts the country’s GNP
of the D.R.C. The strong linkage between mining and manufacturing has increased the export earnings.
As a result, this has raised valuable capital to invest in various sectors and tourism sector.

The mining industry has led to the generation of government revenue in the Republic of the D.R.C. This
revenue comes from the taxation of gold, silver, cobalt, iron ore and manganese mining companies. The
government also taxes the incomes of workers employed in the mining sector and the related industry.
The revenue realized is invested in various sectors such as fishing, manufacturing industry and
development of agriculture.

Gold mining in Kilimoto area, diamond mining in Kasai Province, copper in Katanga province and others
minerals have increased the DRC’s international standing in terms of respect and recognition. This
international recognition is a source of advertisement for the DRC in Africa and the rest of the world
which attracts a large number of foreign investors. It should be noted that the DRC is often referred to
as the land of minerals because of dominating world production of minerals.

Mineral exploitation in the DRC has led to an increase in population numbers within the eastern port of
the country. Such an increase in population numbers has been the basis of the present high level of
economic activities that characterize the mineral cities of the DRC. This economic status of the DRC in
Africa has made her to play an important role in Central Africa in terms of political, social and economic
processes.

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Negative contributions of the mining industry.

The mining industry has led to dereliction which results from the ruthless exploitation of natural
resources without consideration for the future. In particular, most dereliction is the result of thoughtless
and uncontrollable mineral extraction and exploitation. Derelict land is theoretically land which has
been abandoned as useless or as too badly damaged to repay private person to improve it. Derelict
lands are ugly, denude of vegetation, laced with stagnant pools of water or covered with mine tailing or
slag. This is evident in abandoned gold, diamond, silver, copper and manganese mines in the Katanga,
Kasai and other provinces.

Mining leads to the destruction of the landscape, leaving adits, shafts, quarries and heaps of soil or
rock waste in the Kasai and Katanga Provinces. This gives rise to extensive areas of wasteland. For
example, the soil heaps from the Gold at Kilimoto and Copper at Katanga led to the destruction and
disfiguring of the landscape. The abandoned mines, ditches, quarries and heaps of soil have created an
ugly landscape and large areas of wasteland such as heap.

Mining leads to pollution of the environment, that is, air, water and noise pollution. For example, copper
mining destroys underground water and lakes. In addition, the dust from the various mines pollutes the
air hence causing deadly disease in the mining cities of Bakwanga, Kilimoto, Tshikapa, Kamituga,
Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene

Mining is associated with frequent occurrence of mining accidents. For example, the sinking of soils,
patches of soils covering miners, collapsing of mine roofs, all these lead to the innumerable death of
miners. Land over underground mines may subside, causing houses to collapse or creating hummocky
ground unsuitable for any use and often full of pools of water. Shafts that are not filled in may lead to
accidents and old quarries and opencast pits may also be dangerous. Open cast mines which are
afterwards, flooded with water such as alluvial diamond mines at Bakwanga and Tshikapa and gravel
pits are often very deep and therefore, dangerous. These lead to accidents on children. Tip heaps too
cause special hazards. Tip heaps of surrounding slag are also dangerous and tips of waste materials may
contain large amounts toxic materials which could be harmful to health of the people at Bakwanga,
Kilimoto, Tshikapa, Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene amongst others.

Mining has also led to wastage of industrial land. Where derelict land is in or near towns, it could be
profitably used for factories or housing if reclaimed. In fact, the derelict land often promotes urban
sprawl by forcing the town to expand in other directions sometimes at the expanse of agricultural land
and dereliction is a deterrent to modern development. Any new factory set up in the area would find it
difficult to obtain workers, especially skilled or managerial staff who would not wish to live in such
unpleasant surroundings such as Bakwanga, Kilimoto, Tshikapa, Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke,
Kampene amongst others.

Mining has led to the ugliness of towns. People who love in areas where there is derelict land have no
pride in their towns. They do not like their homes nor gardens and such people in derelict mining towns
such as Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa lose a sense of
beauty of the natural environment. Those people whose reactions are not deadened and indifferent
tend to migrate away from such unpleasant areas. This however, leads to urban sprawl in other towns
and general spread of man-made landscape at the expense of natural landscape.

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Mining has promoted permanent damage to the landscape. In mining towns where derelict mines are
not rehabilitated much beautiful scenery may be spoiled. Heaps of rock waste in gold mines of the
mining towns such as Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa
have ruined the landscape in the mining areas. The destruction of the natural beauty not only affects the
aesthetic appeal of landscape but also damages its tourist potential.

Mining in the DRC has led to the emergency of ghost towns where minerals have been exhausted and
this has forced people to move from some minerals centers such as Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke,
Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa to newly discovered areas with minerals to other small
towns where there are more mining prospects. Modern planned settlements of higher costs have
apparently been abandoned in areas of abandoned mines.

Mining is also associated with a multiplicity of urban related problems and social ills. For example, urban
problems in Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa include;
sprawling shanty slum growth, there is also high crime rates such as rape, theft, robbery, gang violence,
homicides, xenophobic attacks against migrant workers and unplanned settlement units as well as high
rates of prostitution. It is very costly for government to eradicate these urban related problems in these
mining towns.

It should be noted that for the case of the DRC, the discovery of minerals such as Cobalt, Copper,
Diamond, Tantalum, Tin, Gold, Coltan (Niobium and Tantalum), Lithium Spodumene hard rock situated
in Manono, Central DRC increased the urge by foreign powers of political, economic and socio-cultural
influence of the DRC. Earlier, after the discovery of these major minerals, foreign powers invaded the
DRC and spurred the first and Second Congo War which caused untold suffering of the people of the
DRC. Today, there are many rebel groups in the Congo and majority of them are engaged in the
lucrative exploitation processes.

Most of the mining activities of Cobalt, Copper, Diamond, Tantalum, Tin, Gold, Coltan (Niobium and
Tantalum), Lithium Spodumene in Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto
and Tshikapa and other places are operated by foreign transnational companies such as AVZ Minerals-
an Australian company. This reduces the rate of re-investment in the DRC economy and promotes illicit
profit repatriation to foreign countries Australia, China, the USA amongst others. .

Mining in the mining provinces of the DRC such as Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene,
Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa has created regional imbalance. Mining cities in the Central, Kasai
Province and Katanga are more developed than mining cities in other provinces such as North Kivu,
Ituri and others provinces where there are no diamond mines whose cities have remained small for
quite long time.

The Katanga, Kasai and Central DRC mining provinces have resulted into high rates of uncontrollable
population migrations into the mines. This has been a major source of social and political problems such
as unemployment, poverty, shortage of essential services especially in the mining provinces leading to
growth and high rate of urban violence. In the mines themselves, there has been frequent outbreak of
labor unrest due to deplorable living conditions and low wages.

The mining industry in the DRC has led to the loss of bio-diversity through clearing of forests and other
vegetables for mining space as well as through dumping of waste of rocks. All these lead to loss of bio-

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diversity as the flora and fauna of the area are destroyed. While some fauna may be forced to relocate,
the habitat of the indigenous organisms are destroyed in Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene,
Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa.

The scars left behind especially where open cast mining has taken place expose the land to agents of soil
erosion. Exposure of bare land enables soil erosion to take place easily which renders the land entirely
unproductive. This has led to the low level of development of the agricultural sector in the areas of
Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa

The mining activities of both the ground surface and the underground result in the lowering of the water
table when it is exposed. Thus, a lot of water flows away in areas of Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke,
Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa. This leads to shortage of water in an area and as a result
the vegetation in the area may dry up. The area may become semi-arid due to this.

Some mining areas produce a lot of dust and smoke, thus causing a lot of air pollution. The mining and
processing of some minerals such as Cobalt, Copper, Diamond, Tantalum, Tin, Gold, Coltan (Niobium
and Tantalum), and Lithium Spodumene in Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene, Bakwanga,
Kilimoto and Tshikapa produces a lot of dust and smoke. The vegetation and the people in such area are
affected. Continued blasting and the noise produced by the machinery at work cause a lot of pollution.
Toxic gases emitted from the mines pollute the surrounding air while water pumped from underground
mines may pollute water sources on the surface.

Acid mine drainage has been extensively recorded in parts of Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke,
Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa, most notably where the Katanga Province. In addition
dust produced during mining operations is generally injurious to health and causes the lung disease
known as black lung or pneumoconiosis.

Some minerals have a low demand and hence are just a stockpile. For example, since the end of the cold
war, in 1989, the demand for uranium, a source of atomic energy and potentially atomic bombs, though
originally mined at Shinkolobwe or Kasolo uranium mine in Katanga Province, 20km west of Likasi and
20km South of Kambove and about 145 Km North West of Lubumbashi were reduced in terms of
activities. This mine was officially closed in 2004. Minerals such as sand, aggregates and cement grade
limestone occur widely. They are henceforth seldom traded on the world market.

Mining in Kamituga, Kolwezi, Kipushi, Tenke, Kampene, Bakwanga, Kilimoto and Tshikapa, and other
cities of the Katanga Province lead to neglect of other sectors of the economy such as agriculture in
North Kivu and Ituri since more able-bodied youth move for better paying job in the mines.

Problems Faced By the Mining Industry in the DRC (Factors Limiting the Growth and Development of
the Mining Industry in Developing Countries).

It is important to note that up to the present, countries of the developed world continue to dominate
world trade and processing of mineral resources at the expense of the developing world, more
particularly, the tropical countries of Africa such as the DRC. Examples of mineral rich states or countries
include USA, China, Russian Federation, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Australia, Canada, Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, UAE and many others. The political dominance of these nation states results from their
economic strength or prowess. The only economic strength of the developed nations such as the DRC,
relies in part, on her privileged access and bounty of nature to valuable domestic mineral reserves.

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The strength of the developed world serves in their favor to give them an edge over the minerals of the
countries in the tropical African such as DRC. Several factors therefore, help to account for the
continued failure of countries in developing nations at improving their mining sectors. These factors
include the following:

Minerals in the DRC occur in small size in their deposits. Most mineral deposits have small quantities
that they may not be viable and economic to exploit because they can run out in a few years. It may be
uneconomical to exploit or install expensive equipment or machinery, For example, iron ore,
manganese, silver amongst others. This discourages many investors in the mining industry. The DRC
copper mines for example, face a danger of exhaustion of copper ore in the foreseeable future due to
high rates of exploitation. This may be too risky a situation for the DRC-an economy without any viable
alternative exports which can potentially slow economic growth. It should even be noted that some
mines in the DRC have been closed due to the exhaustion of the copper ore, uranium (Shinkolobwe up
to 2004).

The low grades of some minerals in the D.R.C in Katanga (Shaba) Province has made it difficult for
investors to set-up mines in such areas. Because a large percentage of the mineral ore become waste
material, copper mining attracts less investment. In DRC, the quality of diamond varies and some are of
low grade hence, it is increasingly more uneconomical to exploit or to install expensive machinery. The
DRC has a variety of minerals that seem to be in small quantities and uneconomical to be mined. Some
of these minerals are of low grades, hence have low demand at the world markets. This has made it
uneconomical to exploit such minerals as uranium, iron ore, tungsten and vanadium among others.

The great depth of some minerals has led to the low level of mineral prospecting, exploration,
exploitation and processing in the DRC. Most minerals exist at great depth in the underground and
hence very expensive to exploit. They are subjected to a thick overlying burden such as copper
diamonds and iron ore. This increases the cost of exploitation since it requires sophisticated technology
such as shafts/underground mining methods and involves a lot of risks which the Congolese may not be
able to undertake.

The attempts at nationalization of the mining industry was equally detrimental to a large extent, on the
success of mining activities in the DRC. In the years following Mobutu’s rise to power in 1965, the
mining companies were nationalized and merged into one large state owned company, the GECAMINES.
It was preceded by growing inflation. In spite of the fact that the Mobutu regime allowed concession to
SODIMIZA and SMTZ (Tenke Fungurume), they faced economic difficulties that pushed foreign investors
to withdraw from the DRC in the second half of 1970s.

The DRC under Mobutu faced economic challenges such as budget restrictions imposed by the
international financial institutions which forced the Mobutu regime to divert its funds for political
purposes. This put the development plans of the mining companies in jeopardy. The companies were
unable to renew or maintain their machines and mining facilities. It is this vicious circle that led to the
decline of the mining industry in the DRC by the early 1990s. Production collapsed and GECAMINES had
to cut costs on all fronts.

At first glance, the long decline of GECAMINES in the last two decades of the 20th century led to a severe
deterioration of its camps due to failure at maintenance, buildings fell into decay, roads collapsed,

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electricity was cut off, water pipes leaked and vegetation covered open spaces. Today, the GECAMINES
camps appear as ghosts of a bygone era, abandoned to the erosion of time for more than thirty years.

There are many risks involved in the mining sector. The mining conditions are not appealing and this is
partly attributed to the deep overlying burden which can bury the miners/exploiters, high level of
pollution involved in form of noise and air pollution which causes deadly diseases. All these scare away
workers and potential investors in the mining sector in the DRC.

The DRC export their minerals as crude ores or raw materials. They rarely add value to their minerals.
The mining and sale of raw ores caused by the low level of industrial development in the country leads
to low earnings from minerals. They earn less than what would be earned if they had undertaken
mineral processing and refinement. Therefore, the high costs of production are not compensated by the
high value in terms of exported ores which weakens and undermines tropical mining in the country. For
example, copper mining in the D.R.C. at Katanga.

The remoteness or distance of a mineral deposit from either the processing centers or transport hub
such as the coast. Most deposits in the DRC, for example, copper in the Shaba or Katanga Province of
the D.R.C amongst others. Therefore, the long distance travelled and the scarcity of viable transport
infrastructures has limited mineral production and mineral trade in The DRC despite having enormous
mineral potential. The dense tropical forests the D.R.C has made the development of transport systems
pretty difficult.

There is low level of adoption of modern, user-friendly and cheap technologies for productive and
economic mining methods. The low level of technology used in the extraction of some minerals in the
D.R.C has made it pretty difficult to expand the mining operations especially in case of small scale
underground mining for copper, and diamond as well as gold. Moreover, the small operations make
mineral exploitation using modern technology unprofitable and very expensive, yet even most provinces
of the DRC Cannot afford to purchase expensive equipment

The DRC faces a problem of inadequate capital resources to invest in the economic exploitation of the
minerals such Gold at Kilimoto, Copper at Katanga, Diamonds at Bakwanga and Tshikapa which needs
large amounts of electricity for final production . The delayed exploitation of some of the minerals is due
to the inadequate capital resources. the purchase of mining equipment, building smelting and mineral
processing plants as well as associated infrastructures are all expensive to the DRC. Mineral survey and
mineral mapping and prospecting requires a lot of funds and expensive gadgets which may not be
available.

The DRC faces a problem of limited skilled and technical labor force to work in the mining sector. The
mining provinces do not have many competent engineers, geologists and other scientists to develop and
manage mineral exploitation more economically. This is also attributed to the poorly developed training
in mineral exploitation and the general education system in tropical countries which trains theoretically.
This also explains why the DRC continues relying on expatriate personnel. There is inadequate skilled
manpower to undertake mineral exploitation since the required equipment and machinery are also
inadequate.

There is a problem of price fluctuation of mineral products on the world market. Prices of some tropical
mineral products have fluctuated more in the recent past leading to uncertain incomes. For example,

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the prices of copper declined more in the 1980s such that even earnings from it reduced tremendously
for the D.R.C causing unfavorable terms of trade, hence limiting further investment in mining. By the
mid-1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, the DRC was highly or heavily indebted to the IMF due to a balance
of payment crisis. The collapse of the copper prices due to aluminum substitute led to the closure of
some mines.

There is limited market for some minerals in the DRC. Many other countries of the developed world that
would import tropical minerals have huge deposits of such minerals with better mining tools. For
example, Copper exists in huge quantities in the USA, Russian Federation, Canada, and China and yet
there are also huge deposits of Gold in South Africa, copper in the USA, and gold and diamond in the
Russian Federation, all of which further reduces the market for the DRC’s minerals. Some DRC’s
minerals have low market value, for example, lead, manganese and Zinc.

Minerals in the DRC have not been fully exploited in many areas due to political instability, in the second
Congo War, a lot of coltan, gold and copper were looted by Rwanda and Uganda up to 2001.there were
rebel groups such as MLC, RCD –Goma and RCD-ML who each made their own deals with foreign
businessmen for cash or military equipment. Battle fields most commonly centered on areas that had
huge reserves of Diamonds and Coltan potential. Many minerals have not been exploited and surveyed
due to political insecurity and rebel insurgencies for decades limiting the development of the mining
industry. This has greatly hampered the mapping and exploitation of minerals in most parts of the
country.

The mining provinces of Katanga and Kasai have for a long time been locked up in political squabbles
and wars which negatively affects the mining operations. The mineral wealth in the DRC such as
diamonds and Uranium, iron Ore, Copper and Manganese has not yet brought maximum benefit to the
country because rebels have been selling the minerals cheaply to American and European companies in
order to obtain funds to buy fire arms.

Unfavorable government policies towards the mining sector has equally been profoundly significant in
limiting the mining activities in the DRC. In mining provinces, government efforts are directed towards
many other sectors and providing social services but limited investment done in the mining sector, after
all some provinces have less economic potential currently in terms of minerals or their known reserves.
Some governments also discourage foreign investors through high taxes and failure to maintain
transport and other crucial infrastructures.

There is a problem of inadequate and low level of development of power and energy sources in most
provinces of the DRC. The exploitation and processing of some minerals requires colossal or large
amounts of electricity. However, many potential power generation plants have not been established and
the existing ones have low voltage which further undermines the performance of the mining sector in
the DRC.

There is low level of research in the mining sector in the DRC. There is inadequate mineral exploration to
discover new mineral potential, partly attributed to inadequate funding and limited manpower.
Therefore, many minerals are not known to exist in some provinces of the DRC and thus low level of
mineral development is the effect despite the fact that there may be a lot of minerals in the earth’s
crust but have not been fully established in terms of location, quality and quantity.

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The DRC does not have adequate mineral resources that act as the springboard of industrialization. Even
where they may exist, they appear in small quantities. These minerals are; coal that would spur the
quantity and quality of energy production, iron ore which is key to the development of the iron and
steel industries, oil for petro-chemical industries, it is annoyingly exported in its crude state. The failure
to harness these key minerals led to the ripple effect of failure to take-off industrially, hence forth,
making it pretty difficult to provide internal market for the DRC minerals.

There is stiff competition from major mining nations such as the USA, China, Russia, Canada, Germany
and South Africa. These countries are unfortunately the markets of minerals yet they themselves have
established mining industries. The DRC cannot afford to gather the wherewithal to out compete these
long established mining countries. Saudi Arabia, Russia, USA, and Norway for example, dominate the
oil industry and have since time immemorial, dictated oil prices on the planet-earth.

There is a problem of shortage of water resources for use in the various mines which have been
established. If we are to use the case of River Congo which is the major source of water supply to the
large mining areas of the Katanga region, mines which have been established are now highly
overburdened in terms of water requirements.

There is problem of unfavorable terrain in some parts of the highly undulating DRC. Some parts of the
country have mountainous relief and rugged terrain in the mineral rich areas. This presents a great
challenge in relation to transport development. The rugged and mountainous relief is also heavily
forested making it worse to establish transport nodes. The Lake Kivu area and the areas near the
Virunga Volcanoes, such as around Nyamlangila, Nyiragongo, Visoke among others has also made it
pretty cumbersome to mine some minerals because of the mountainous relief and depressions.

The Mining Industry in Zambia.

Copper is the most important mineral mined in Zambia. The copper belt extends from the DRC’s
Katanga Province to the Zambian copper deposits. The copper deposits in Zambia lie deep below the
surface and can only be mined by sinking shafts and galleries (horizontal tunnels) called adits. The
Zambian copper towns include; Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana
Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. Most of Zambia’s
copper is exported to the U.K, Zambia’s copper deposits are found in a 50km wide and within 110km
long belt which extends from Ndola-Luanshya area north westwards to Bancroft.

The ore is smelted in the copper belt at Luilu near Kolwezi and at Likasi. Smelting is done by electricity
which is provided by the Kariba hydroelectric power station on the Zambezi River in Zambia. New
power stations have been built on the banks of the Zambezi, on the Zambian side, these are on the
north bank side of the Kariba and on the south of Lusaka and on the Kafue River due to the south of
Lusaka. Other power sources include hydroelectric stations at Mulungushi Rivers and Lunsemfwa. Some
coal mined at Mamba is also used to provide additional power. There is a railway line to Lubumbashi-
Lobito- Lusaka - Zimbabwe.

The Tazara (Tanzam) Railway is used as a form of transport mode to Dar es Salaam. Other routes
include the quickest route through Zimbabwe to Beira in Mozambique. The Benguela Railway could
also be used. The road route to Salima in Malawi can be used only in the dry season. From there, a little
ore is railed to Beira and Nacala. Mombasa- the port best equipped to handle copper then, could also

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be used but the route was complicated and very little copper could be passed through it. At one time,
the smaller amounts of ore were even sent by road to Mpulungu at the Southern End of Lake
Tanzanyika by boat to Kigoma and by rail to Dar-Es Salaam. The mining companies include Equinox
Minerals and Copperbelt Energy Corporation. There was a Chinese –Zambian Economic Partnership
which was launched from 2007 at Chambishi Copper Mines to develop the mining of copper. The state
corporation is Zambia Consolidated Mines.

Copper Processing.

The copper ore averages out at roughly 4% copper and has to undergo primary processing which
releases copper for final smelting. At the refinery, both types of ore, sulphide and oxides are ground to
powder before being mixed with water to form a thin mud. Sodium salts are added to the sulphide ore
to precipitate copper sulphide out. This is dried and then smelted. The addition of sodium sulphide,
palm oil and fuel oil is to precipitate the oxide ores. These are then leached out by adding further milk
of lime and sulphuric acid. The copper is then separated by electrolysis.

Factors That Have Led To the Growth and Development of the Mining Industry the Zambia.

The Zambia holds vast quantities of the minerals that will be critical drivers of the Fourth industrial
Revolution (4IR). It reported that Zambia has significant high grade copper and cobalt, situated in the
copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana
Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia
to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum.

The existence of minerals such as cobalt and platinum in the Zambia that are ranked as most critical by
the United States, Japan, Republic of Korea and the European Union including the United Kingdom
situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan
Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola
allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These
minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country.

The liberalization of the mining sector was central to Zambian strategy of promoting the development of
the mining industry. It prescribed changes in the law to allow attraction of new foreign investors and
organized the restructuring of state owned mining and industrial assets to new joint venture projects
with foreign private companies. For example, the mining companies include Equinox Minerals and
Copperbelt Energy Corporation. There was a Chinese –Zambian Economic Partnership which was
launched from 2007 at Chambishi Copper Mines to develop the mining of copper. The state corporation
is Zambia Consolidated Mines.

Following the rise in copper prices in 2004, investors of various sizes and origins flocked to the copper
belt of Zambia to snatch up the company’s most promising assets. A few years later, many projects were
found in operation, producing tons of copper in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira,
Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe,
Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as
silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country.

There is a wide variety of mineral deposits which encourages investments in the mining sector due to
being economically viable. Zambia has large reserves of gold, copper, cobalt, and other minerals. These

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large deposits have attracted government funding and various local as well as foreign mining companies
situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan
Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola
allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These
minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country which appear in the earth’s crust.

Zambia is widely known to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, in the untapped resource
wealth especially untapped mineral deposits, including one of the world’s largest reserves of copper
situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan
Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola
allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These
minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country.

The presence of high quality and highly valuable minerals produced. Gold commands a high level of
demand since it is a very precious metal as an international currency and for decoration of jewelries. The
high grade of most of the Zambia’s deposits attract many companies and encourages mining investment
situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan
Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola
allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These
minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country.

There is presence of large water supply from river Zambezi necessary for refining some mining activities.
The water is also used for domestic use in the labor camps. This also encourages further investment in
the mining industry situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi,
Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana,
Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium,
gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country.

The rapid development and encouragement of the industrial sector in the Zambian and other places has
led to the growth and development of the mining industry in Zambia. These industries use minerals as
raw materials situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi,
Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana,
Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium,
gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country. This enhances
mineral exploitation and processing due to the available immediate market in the various industries.

There is a large source of both skilled and semi-skilled labor employed in the mining sector. Cheap labor
to work in the mines is provided by the local people situated in the copper belt in the mining towns
Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately),
Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral
wealth such as copper silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated the mining
industry in the country. Mpre sources of labor are migrant workers from neighboring countries of
Tanzania, the DRC, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola, Rwanda and southern African countries amongst
others. The foreign companies brought in many skilled workers and trained local people to acquire the
necessary skills such as geologists who carry out mineral exploration, mining engineers and supervisors.

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There is a reliable source of adequate capital resources that was invested in the mining sector provided
by the government, foreign and local companies. These are investing in the exploration, survey,
exploitation and processing as well as refining of minerals such as copper situated in the copper belt in
the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa,
(Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further
tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated
the mining industry in the country. This has promoted the growth of the mining sector in the D.R.C.

There is availability of high level of technology which has led to the growth and development of the
mining industries in Zambia. The high level of technology used was imported by foreign companies. This
involves earth movers, caterpillars, bull dozers and cranes. Most mines began as open cast mines but as
of today, underground mining is also used by deep level miners. Modern mineral processing technology
is used and all this in turn increases quality and quantity of mineral production situated in the copper
belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa,
(Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further
tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated
the mining industry in the country.

There is availability of a large market base for minerals and mineral products from both domestic and
international markets. Gold as part of the internationally acceptable currency reserve has an enviable
ready market especially in industrialized countries in Europe, Asia (Japan and China), and North
America amongst others. It should also be noted that Zambia exports minerals and mineral products to
African countries as well. Besides, the copperbelt is a major industrial region of the Zambia and yet
there is a huge concentration of minerals in the same area. This offers immediate market for such
minerals such as gold, copper, platinum. Selenium, cobalt, coal, silver amongst others. This has
therefore, promoted more investment in the mining industry in Zambia.

There is availability of cheap, reliable and well developed transport and communication network which
has led to the growth and development of the mining sector in the Zambia. The country has many air
terminals such as Lusaka Airport. The Tazara (Tanzam) Railway is used as a form of transport mode to
Dar es Salaam. Other routes include the quickest route through Zimbabwe to Beira in Mozambique.
The Benguela Railway could also be used. The road route to Salima in Malawi can be used only in the
dry season. From there, a little ore is railed to Beira and Nacala. Mombasa- the port best equipped to
handle copper then, could also be used but the route was complicated and very little copper could be
passed through it. At one time, the smaller amounts of ore were even sent by road to Mpulungu at the
Southern End of Lake Tanzanyika by boat to Kigoma and by rail to Dar-Es Salaam. These facilitate the
movement of minerals ore from mining centers to processing centers and mineral products to export
ports. These transport connectivity increase the mining investments.

There is availability of favorable and supportive government policies towards the mining sector in
Zambia. The government was and is able to set up the necessary transport and communication
infrastructure, creation of markets and economic liberalization which has allowed many private
companies into the mining industry situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira,
Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe,
Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as
silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country.

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There has been increased intensive research and discovery of more valuable mineral exploitation,
exploration, prospecting and later mineral refining in Zambia. This also in turn promotes the quality and
quantity of mineral production. The Zambia produces the most important such as Copper, Gold, Cobalt,
Silver and Selenium. The copper belt of Zambia supplies a large proportion of the world‘s copper and
cobalt production for steel alloys and this is situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola,
Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately),
Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral
wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in
the country.

There has been relative political stability since the roll-out of a peaceful transfer of power in the 21st
century. The country has remained relatively stable which has encouraged many local and foreign
investors in mineral exploration, extraction and processing as well as encouraging trade in mineral and
mineral products since security of investment is assured for the mines situated in the copper belt in the
mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted
Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast
mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated the mining
industry in the country.

There is availability of reliable source of food stuffs which has led to the growth and development of the
mining industry in Zambia. For example, the copper belt is well served with modern transport networks
linked to the rich agricultural zones or belts. Therefore, there is easy provision of food stuffs to the mine
workers situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya,
Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and
Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum.
These minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in the country.

There is a large presence of foreign investors in the Zambia which has led to the development of the
mining industry. It is the Zambian government policy to attract foreign investors into the mining
industry. For example, foreign companies which have invested in the copper industry include Equinox
Minerals and Copperbelt Energy Corporation. There was a Chinese –Zambian Economic Partnership
which was launched from 2007 at Chambishi Copper Mines to develop the mining of copper. The state
corporation is Zambia Consolidated Mines.

The mode of formation of Zambian mineral resources made it possible to carry out mining at ease in the
inception. The mineral ores are closer to the surface. This makes it profitable to mine it. It was
therefore, easy to carry out mining from the exposed minerals situated in the copper belt in the mining
towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted
Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola allowing Zambia to further tap its vast
mineral wealth such as silver, selenium, gold, platinum. These minerals have rejuvenated the mining
industry in the country.

There is availability of large quantities of power and energy supply such as hydroelectric power which is
used for smelting and refining of minerals. For example, the copper ore is smelted in the copper belt at
Luilu near Kolwezi and at Likasi. Smelting is done by electricity which is provided by the Kariba
hydroelectric power station on the Zambezi River in Zambia. New power stations have been built on the
banks of the Zambezi, on the Zambian side, these are on the north bank side of the Kariba and on the

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south of Lusaka and on the Kafue River due to the south of Lusaka. Other power sources include
hydroelectric stations at Mulungushi Rivers and Lunsemfwa. Some coal mined at Mamba is also used to
provide additional power.

The Role of the Mining Industry to the Economic Development of Zambia.

Positive contribution

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of Zambia through promoting the inflow of
foreign exchange. Zambia’s major exports comprise minerals and agricultural produce. Since minerals
account for a bigger percentage of exports, copper is therefore, a major foreign exchange earner. Gold
too contributes immensely to the country’s foreign exchange inflow. Part of this income is used in
improving other sectors of the economy. A substantial amount of foreign exchange is also earned from
the exports of cobalt the U.K and Asian countries such as China. This has improved livelihood in areas of
the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope,
Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola.

The mining industry is a major employer in Zambia, providing employment to cover a large number of
people, both from Zambia and from neighboring countries. This has raised the standards of the people
of the Zambia. The jobs are created in the various stages of mineral exploitation ranging from extraction,
exploitation, processing, refining, transportation and exportation. Many people are employed in the
mining sector. Through income that the workers earn, there is improvement in the standards of living
through building better houses, accessing better education and health services in areas of the copper
belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa,
(Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola.

The establishment of the mines in the copperbelt has led to the development of towns in areas of the
copper belt, for example Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa,
Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. The growth of these towns has led to the
great demand of the agricultural and industrial produce and products. As the population increases in
these towns or urban centers, a number of facilities come up, such as banking, insurance, education,
health centers, and recreation, entertainment and research facilities.

There has been growth and development of social and economic infrastructures such as schools,
colleges, research stations, roads, railways, amongst others. The profits accruing from the sale of
minerals and mineral products have been used for the expansion of infrastructure in Zambia. This has
resulted in cheaper and faster movement of goods, people and services which have led to improved
service delivery. These routes were initially put in place to link mining areas with processing centers as
well as export terminals. These networks have not only supported the mining sector but also other
activities such as industry, farming, and service amongst others.

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of industries, copper, gold, cobalt,
platinum and other minerals being raw materials in the industries and other highly valuable items has
promoted industrial expansion in Zambia. Mining has led to the promotion of copper refineries, cobalt
processing, gold processing etc. These industries have also led to the development of secondary
industries such as electrical, machinery, mechanical and transportation which all provide jobs to many
people situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya,

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Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and
Chingola

Mining has contributed to the acquisition and development of industrial mining skills that are useful in
other sectors of the economy of Zambia. Mining has therefore, spurred technological advancement.
Mining has led to the development of other sectors such as agriculture, trade and commerce- given the
linkage with such sectors. For example, the mining sector in Zambia provides market for the agricultural
sector through buying food for the miners. This in turn, increases the national income for the people
situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan
Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola.

Mining has led to the facilitation of technological development and research in Zambia through use of
modern mining methods such as underground mining and standardization of industrial processing
technology to improve the quality and quantity of products such as chemicals, electronics etc. this has
been evident in the copper belt situated in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi,
Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana,
Nchanga and Chingola

The mining industry has promoted the diversification of the economy of Zambia due to the development
of the mining sector and related industry which supplements on the number of economic activities. It
has therefore, reduced over dependency on few sectors such as agriculture; there by expanding the
economic base and national income and household for the areas situated in the copper belt in the
mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted
Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola.

The mining industry has led to the promotion of good international relationships that are cordial, it has
promoted cooperation between Zambia and other countries such as the countries where mining
companies originate, countries importing the minerals and associated industrial products these
countries include the U.K, China and the European Union as well the rest of Africa. This has increased
trade and economic contacts with those countries-hence more capital inflow. Gold for example, being a
medium of exchange is used by the Zambia to settle some international debts.

The mining industry facilitates capital accumulation such as gold mining which boosts the country’s GNP
of Zambia. The strong linkage between mining and manufacturing has increased the export earnings. As
a result, this has raised valuable capital to invest in various sectors and tourism sector. Major activities
have been in the areas situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe,
Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft,
Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola.

The mining industry has led to the generation of government revenue in Zambia. This revenue comes
from the taxation of copper, gold, silver, cobalt, selenium and platinum mining companies situated in
the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope,
Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. The
government also taxes the incomes of workers employed in the mining sector and the related industry.
The revenue realized is invested in various sectors such as, manufacturing industry and development of
agriculture.

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Mining of copper in the copper belt of Zambia has increased the international standing of the country in
terms of respect and recognition. This international recognition is a source of advertisement for Zambia
in Africa and in the rest of the world which attracts a large number of foreign investors. It should be
noted that Zambia is often referred to as the land of copper because of dominating world production of
copper after the DRC. This copper is produced in areas situated in the copper belt in the mining towns
Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately),
Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola.

Mineral exploitation in Zambia has led to an increase in population numbers within the mining areas of
the country. Such an increase in population numbers has been the basis of the present high level of
economic activities that characterize the mineral cities in areas of situated in the copper belt in the
mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa,
(Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. This economic status of the
Zambia in Africa has made her to play an important role in Southern Africa in terms of political, social
and economic processes.

Negative contributions of the mining industry.

The mining industry in Zambia has led to dereliction which results from the ruthless exploitation of
natural resources without consideration for the future. In particular, most dereliction is the result of
thoughtless and uncontrollable mineral extraction and exploitation. Derelict land is theoretically land
which has been abandoned as useless or as too badly damaged to repay private person to improve it.
Derelict lands are ugly, denuded of vegetation, laced with stagnant pools of water or covered with mine
tailing or slag. This is evident in abandoned copper, gold, silver, and platinum mines in the copper belt.

Mining leads to the destruction of the landscape, leaving adits, shafts, quarries and heaps of soil or
rock waste situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya,
Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. This gives
rise to extensive areas of wasteland. For example, the soil heaps from the Copper mines led to the
destruction and disfiguring of the landscape. The abandoned mines, ditches, quarries and heaps of soil
have created an ugly landscape and large areas of wasteland such as heap.

Mining leads to pollution of the environment, that is, air, water and noise pollution. For example, copper
mining destroys underground water and lakes situated in the copper belt in the mining towns Ndola,
Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately),
Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. In addition, the dust from the various mines
pollutes the air hence causing deadly disease in the mining cities.

Mining is associated with frequent occurrence of mining accidents. For example, the sinking of soils,
patches of soils covering miners, collapsing of mine roofs, all these lead to the innumerable death of
miners. Land over underground mines may subside, causing houses to collapse or creating hummocky
ground unsuitable for any use and often full of pools of water. Shafts that are not filled in may lead to
accidents and old quarries and opencast pits may also be dangerous. Open cast mines which are
afterwards, flooded with water such as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola,
Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately),
Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola and gravel pits are often very deep and
therefore, dangerous. These lead to accidents on children. Tip heaps too cause special hazards. Tip

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heaps of surrounding slag are also dangerous and tips of waste materials may contain large amounts
toxic materials which could be harmful to health of the people.

Mining has also led to wastage of industrial land in Zambia. Where derelict land is in or near towns, such
as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya,
Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and
Chingola, it could be profitably used for factories or housing if reclaimed. In fact, the derelict land often
promotes urban sprawl by forcing the town to expand in other directions sometimes at the expense of
agricultural land and dereliction is a deterrent to modern development. Any new factory set up in the
area would find it difficult to obtain workers, especially skilled or managerial staff who would not wish
to live in such unpleasant surroundings.

Mining has led to the ugliness of towns such as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of
Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately),
Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. People who love in areas where there is
derelict land have no pride in their towns. They do not like their homes nor gardens and such people in
derelict mining lose a sense of beauty of the natural environment. Those people whose reactions are not
deadened and indifferent tend to migrate away from such unpleasant areas. This however, leads to
urban sprawl in other towns and general spread of man-made landscape at the expense of natural
landscape.

Mining has promoted permanent damage to the landscape. In mining towns where derelict mines are
not rehabilitated much beautiful scenery may be spoiled. Heaps of rock waste in copper mines of the
mining towns such as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe,
Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft,
Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. These have ruined the landscape in the mining areas. The destruction of
the natural beauty not only affects the aesthetic appeal of the landscape but also damages its tourist
potential.

Mining in Zambia has led to the emergency of ghost towns such as Bwana Mkubwa where minerals
have been exhausted and this has forced people to move from some minerals centers to newly
discovered areas with minerals to other small towns where there are more mining prospects. Modern
planned settlements of higher costs have apparently been abandoned in areas of abandoned mines.

Mining is also associated with a multiplicity of urban related problems and social ills. For example, urban
problems in areas such as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira,
Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana,
Nchanga and Chingola. These problems include sprawling shanty slum growth, there is also high crime
rates such as rape, theft, robbery, gang violence, homicides, xenophobic attacks against migrant workers
and unplanned settlement units as well as high rates of prostitution. It is very costly for government to
eradicate these urban related problems in these mining towns.

It should be noted that for the case of Zambia, the discovery of minerals such as Cobalt, Copper, Gold,
such as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi,
Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana,
Nchanga and Chingola increased the urge by foreign powers of political, economic and socio-cultural
influence of Zambia. Earlier, after the discovery of these major minerals, foreign powers meddled in

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Zambia and spurred political conflicts which caused untold suffering of the people of Zambia. Today
many foreign powers are engaged in the lucrative exploitation processes of minerals in Zambia. .

Most of the mining activities of Cobalt, Copper, Gold, silver, platinum such as those situated in the
copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana
Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola and other places
are operated by foreign transnational companies such. This reduces the rate of re-investment in
Zambian economy and promotes illicit profit repatriation to foreign countries China, the U.K and the
European Union amongst others. .

Mining in the mining areas such as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola,
Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately),
Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola has created regional imbalance. Mining cities
are more developed than areas without minerals. Others provinces where there are no copper mines
their cities have remained small for quite long time.

Mining areas such as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe,
Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft,
Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola have resulted into high rates of uncontrollable population migrations into
the mines. This has been a major source of social and political problems such as unemployment,
poverty, shortage of essential services especially in the mining provinces leading to growth and high
rate of urban violence. In the mines themselves, there has been frequent outbreak of labor unrest due
to deplorable living conditions and low wages.

The mining industry in Zambia has led to the loss of bio-diversity through clearing of forests and other
vegetables for mining space as well as through dumping of waste of rocks. All these lead to loss of bio-
diversity as the flora and fauna of the area are destroyed. For example, areas such as those situated in
the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope,
Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. While
some fauna may be forced to relocate, the habitat of the indigenous organisms are destroyed.

The scars left behind especially where open cast mining has taken place expose the land to agents of soil
erosion. Exposure of bare land enables soil erosion to take place easily which renders the land entirely
unproductive. This has led to the low level of development of the agricultural sector in the areas such as
those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya,
Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and
Chingola.

The mining activities of both the ground surface and the underground methods result in the lowering of
the water table when it is exposed. Thus, a lot of water flows away in areas such as those situated in the
copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana
Mkubwa, Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. This leads to shortage of water in an
area and as a result the vegetation in the area may dry up. The area may become semi-arid due to this.

Some mining areas produce a lot of dust and smoke, thus causing a lot of air pollution. The mining and
processing of some minerals such as Cobalt, Copper, Gold in areas such as those situated in the copper
belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana

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Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. Produces a lot
of dust and smoke. The vegetation and the people in such area are affected. Continued blasting and the
noise produced by the machinery at work cause a lot of pollution. Toxic gases emitted from the mines
pollute the surrounding air while water pumped from underground mines may pollute water sources on
the surface.

Acid mine drainage has been extensively recorded in areas such as those situated in the copper belt in
the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa,
(Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola. In addition, dust produced
during mining operations is generally injurious to health and causes the lung disease known as black
lung or pneumoconiosis.

Some minerals have a low demand and hence are just a stockpile. For example, in the 1970s, the
demand for copper went down and this affected the mining activities. Some mines were closed until
2004 when the demand shot up. Minerals such as sand, aggregates and cement grade limestone occur
widely but are henceforth seldom traded on the world market.

Mining in areas such as those situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe,
Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft,
Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola and other cities lead to neglect of other sectors of the economy such as
agriculture since more able-bodied youth move for better paying job in the mines.

Problems Faced By the Mining Industry in Zambia (Factors Limiting the Growth and Development of
the Mining Industry in Developing Countries).

It is important to note that up to the present, countries of the developed world continue to dominate
world trade and processing of mineral resources at the expense of the developing world, more
particularly, the tropical countries of Africa such as Zambia. Examples of mineral rich states or countries
include USA, China, Russian Federation, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Australia, Canada, Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, UAE and many others. The political dominance of these nation states results from their
economic strength or prowess. The only economic strength of the developed nations such as Zambia
relies in part, on her privileged access and bounty of nature to valuable domestic mineral reserves.

The strength of the developed world serves in their favor to give them an edge over the minerals of the
countries in the tropical Africa such as Zambia. Several factors therefore, help to account for the
continued failure of countries in developing nations at improving their mining sectors. These factors
include the following:

Minerals in Zambia occur in small size in their deposits. Most mineral deposits have small quantities that
they may not be viable and economic to exploit because they can run out in a few years. It may be
uneconomical to exploit or install expensive equipment or machinery, For example, gold, platinum,
cobalt and silver amongst others. This discourages many investors in the mining industry. Zambian
copper mines for example, face a danger of exhaustion of copper ore in the foreseeable future due to
high rates of exploitation. This may be too risky a situation for Zambia-an economy without any viable
alternative exports which can potentially slow economic growth. It should even be noted that some
mines in Zambia have been closed due to the exhaustion of the copper ore, platinum, silver and gold.

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The low grades of some minerals in Zambian areas such as those situated in the copper belt in the
mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi, Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa,
(Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana, Nchanga and Chingola has made it difficult for
investors to set-up mines in such areas. Because a large percentage of the mineral ore become waste
material, copper mining attracts less investment. In Zambia the quality of copper and some are of low
grade hence, it is increasingly more uneconomical to exploit or to install expensive machinery. Zambia
has a variety of minerals that seem to be in small quantities and uneconomical to be mined. Some of
these minerals are of low grades, hence have low demand at the world markets. This has made it
uneconomical to exploit such minerals as platinum, coal, silver, selenium and gold among others.

The great depth of some minerals has led to the low level of mineral prospecting, exploration,
exploitation and processing in Zambia. Most minerals exist at great depth in the underground and hence
very expensive to exploit. They are subjected to a thick overlying burden such as copper, gold, silver,
platinum and selenium. This increases the cost of exploitation since it requires sophisticated technology
such as shafts/underground mining methods and involves a lot of risks which the Zambians may not be
able to undertake.

There are many risks involved in the mining sector. The mining conditions are not appealing and this is
partly attributed to the deep overlying burden which can bury the miners/exploiters, high level of
pollution involved in form of noise and air pollution which causes deadly diseases. All these scare away
workers and potential investors in the mining sector in Zambia.

Zambia exports their minerals as crude ores or raw materials. They rarely add value to their minerals.
The mining and sale of raw ores caused by the low level of industrial development in the country leads
to low earnings from minerals. They earn less than what would be earned if they had undertaken
mineral processing and refinement. Therefore, the high costs of production are not compensated by the
high value in terms of exported ores which weakens and undermines tropical mining in the country. For
example, copper mining in Zambia.

The remoteness or distance of a mineral deposit from either the processing centers or transport hub
such as the coast, for example copper deposits in Zambia. Therefore, the long distance travelled and the
scarcity of viable transport infrastructures has limited mineral production and mineral trade in Zambia
despite having enormous mineral potential. The dense tropical forests Zambia has made the
development of transport systems pretty difficult.

There is low level of adoption of modern, user-friendly and cheap technologies for productive and
economic mining methods. The low level of technology used in the extraction of some minerals in
Zambia has made it pretty difficult to expand the mining operations especially in case of small scale
underground mining for copper, gold as well as platinum. Moreover, the small operations make mineral
exploitation using modern technology unprofitable and very expensive, yet even most miners of Zambia
Cannot afford to purchase expensive equipment

Zambia faces a problem of inadequate capital resources to invest in the economic exploitation of the
minerals such copper in the copper belt which needs large amounts of electricity for final production.
The delayed exploitation of some of the minerals is due to the inadequate capital resources. the
purchase of mining equipment, building smelting and mineral processing plants as well as associated

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infrastructures are all expensive to Zambia. Mineral survey and mineral mapping and prospecting
requires a lot of funds and expensive gadgets which may not be available.

Zambia faces a problem of limited skilled and technical labor force to work in the mining sector. The
mining provinces do not have many competent engineers, geologists and other scientists to develop and
manage mineral exploitation more economically. This is also attributed to the poorly developed training
in mineral exploitation and the general education system in tropical countries which trains theoretically.
This also explains why the Zambia continues relying on expatriate personnel. There is inadequate skilled
manpower to undertake mineral exploitation since the required equipment and machinery are also
inadequate.

There is a problem of price fluctuation of mineral products on the world market. Prices of some tropical
mineral products have fluctuated more in the recent past leading to uncertain incomes. For example,
the prices of copper declined more in the 1980s such that even earnings from it reduced tremendously
for Zambia causing unfavorable terms of trade, hence limiting further investment in mining. By the mid-
1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, the Zambia was highly or heavily indebted to the IMF due to a balance of
payment crisis. The collapse of the copper prices due to aluminium substitute led to the closure of some
mines.

There is limited market for some minerals in Zambia. Many other countries of the developed world that
would import tropical minerals have huge deposits of such minerals with better mining tools. For
example, Copper exists in huge quantities in the USA, Russian Federation, Canada, and China and yet
there are also huge deposits of Gold in South Africa, copper in the USA, and gold and diamond in the
Russian Federation, all of which further reduces the market for the Zambia’s minerals. Some Zambia’s
minerals have low market value.

Minerals in the Zambia have not been fully exploited in many areas due to corruption from politicians,
many minerals have not been exploited and surveyed due to political squabbles for decades limiting the
development of the mining industry. This has greatly hampered the mapping and exploitation of
minerals in most parts of the country. The mineral wealth in the Zambia such as gold and platinum has
not yet brought maximum benefit to the country because smuggling to other countries.

Unfavorable government policies towards the mining sector has equally been profoundly significant in
limiting the mining activities in Zambia. In mining areas, government efforts are directed towards many
other sectors and providing social services but limited investment done in the mining sector, after all
some areas have less economic potential currently in terms of minerals or their known reserves. Some
governments also discourage foreign investors through high taxes and failure to maintain transport and
other crucial infrastructures.

There is a problem of inadequate and low level of development of power and energy sources in most
provinces of Zambia. The exploitation and processing of some minerals requires colossal or large
amounts of electricity. However, many potential power generation plants have not been established and
the existing ones have low voltage which further undermines the performance of the mining sector in
Zambia.

There is low level of research in the mining sector in Zambia. There is inadequate mineral exploration to
discover new mineral potential, partly attributed to inadequate funding and limited manpower.

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Therefore, many minerals are not known to exist in some areas of Zambia and thus low level of mineral
development is the effect despite the fact that there may be a lot of minerals in the earth’s crust but
have not been fully established in terms of location, quality and quantity.

Zambia does not have adequate mineral resources that act as the springboard of industrialization. Even
where they may exist, they appear in small quantities. These minerals are; coal that would spur the
quantity and quality of energy production, iron ore which is key to the development of the iron and
steel industries, oil for petro-chemical industries, it is annoyingly exported in its crude state. The failure
to harness these key minerals led to the ripple effect of failure to take-off industrially, hence forth,
making it pretty difficult to provide internal market for Zambian minerals.

There is stiff competition from major mining nations such as the USA, China, Russia, Canada, Germany
and South Africa. These countries are unfortunately the markets of minerals yet they themselves have
established mining industries. Zambia cannot afford to gather the wherewithal to out compete these
long established mining countries. Saudi Arabia, Russia, USA, and Norway for example, dominate the
oil industry and have since time immemorial, dictated oil prices on the planet-earth.

There is a problem of shortage of water resources for use in the various mines which have been
established. If we are to use the case of River Zambezi which is the major source of water supply to the
large mining areas situated in the copper belt in the mining towns of Ndola, Mufulira, Kitwe, Chambisi,
Luanshya, Roan Antelope, Bwana Mkubwa, (Depleted Lately), Chililabombwe, Bancroft, Nkana,
Nchanga and Chingola. The water sources have been established and are now highly overburdened in
terms of water requirements.

There is problem of unfavorable terrain in some parts of the highly undulating Zambia. Some parts of
the country have mountainous relief and rugged terrain in the mineral rich areas. This presents a great
challenge in relation to transport development. The rugged and mountainous relief is also heavily
forested making it worse to establish transport nodes, among others has also made it pretty
cumbersome to mine some minerals because remoteness.

Iron Ore Mining In the World.

Introduction.

Iron, which makes up 05% of the earth’s crust is the commonest and most useful of metals. It has been
worked since pre-historic times. Iron ore is very widely distributed and the most major iron users had at
least some local supplies on which they could base their industries. Iron ore is an important commodity
in the world trade today, much iron ore is being imported by the world industrialized countries whose
indigenous supplies are being reduced. It is unusual to work ores with less than 20% iron content.
Another important source of iron is from scrap iron from obsolete machines or steel which is recycled.

There are several classes of iron and these include the following:

a) Magnetite (Fe3O4); finest with very high iron content of up to 70%, excellent magnetic qualities
and especially valuable in electrical industry. Magnetite is a black mineral formed in igneous or
metamorphic rocks in veins. Some of it is mined in Liberia, Sweden and Russia.
b) Haematite (Fe2O3); Haematite is the most important industrial iron ore in terms of quantity used
but has somewhat lower iron content of 50-65%. They are red ore derived from sedimentary

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rocks and occur in crystalline or in powdery form, easily mined by Open Cast Methods. Areas
prominent include west of Lake Superior Region in the USA, Labrador and Quebec in Canada,
Minas Gerais in Brazil, the Guiana Highlands, Venezuela, Russia, Krivoy Rog –Ukraine,
Mauritania, Liberia and Bilbao-Spain.
c) Limonite (2Fe2O3.H2O); this is a brown ore occurring in thick beds in sedimentary rock
sequences over large areas of the world. It sometimes occur in swampy areas, when it is known
as bog iron. It has an iron content of less than 50%. For example, at Alabama,-USA. It is a
hydrated oxide of iron and requires some processing before entering the blast furnace.
d) Siderite (FeCO3); this is a carbonate of iron, ash-grey in color and is found inter-bedded with
other sedimentary rocks with carbonaceous rocks. The iron content is usually between 20-30%
in coal fields. In Britain where it occurs in this way, it is called Black Band Ironstone. For
example, Scunthorpe area of Lincolnshire-England, in Lorraine-France and in Luxembourg. It
could not be mined until the invention of the Gilchrest Thomas Process due to high proportion
of phosphorous.

Mining Of Iron Ore.

Many of the world’s largest iron ore deposits are mined by open cast. The surface rocks are stripped off
and exposed. Iron ore is then dug-out by diesel-powered shovels. There is also use of shafts and adits
or underground galleries to mine iron ore where it may be buried in a mountain side.

Transportation of Iron Ore

Iron ore is transported by railway track wagons to the blast furnace for smelting. In some instances,
where iron ore content is less than 50%, it is only profitable to smelt it at the mines itself to avoid
transportation costs. Coke and limestone (both of which are needed for smelting iron ore are brought to
the ore fields. If navigable water ways appear near the iron ore deposits, iron ore is better transported
by water. In some regions iron ore is concentrated and made into pellets which is done by causing the
iron ore to get rid of a large part of the rock. Another way of transporting the iron ore is to mix it with
water to produce a slurry which is then transported by pipeline or by tanker.

Iron Ore Producing Countries in the World.

The world’s largest iron ore producing countries by 2019 in order of rank are Australia, Brazil, China,
India, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, Canada, United States, Kazakhstan, Iran, Sweden, Mexico, Peru,
Chile, Mauritania, Venezuela, Vietnam, Mongolia, Turkey, North Korea, Sierra Leone, Malaysia, New
Zealand, Austria, Greece, Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombo, Algeria, Pakistan, Egypt, South
Korea, Tunisia, Laos, Togo, Bhutan, Morocco.

Iron Ore Mining In Africa.

The most important African iron ore producer is South Africa (03% of world production). South Africa
has its own iron and steel industry. In Africa iron ore producing countries in order of 2019 rank are
South Africa, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Morocco.

The Mining Industry in Liberia.

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The mining industry in Liberia has witnessed a revival after the civil war which ended in 3003. Gold,
diamond and iron ore for the core minerals of the mining sector with a new mineral development policy
and mining code being put in place to attract foreign investors. During the Civil War (which lasted
14years), many major minerals stopped operation and resulted in near zero contribution to the nation’s
economy. Other significant minerals reported are bauxite, beryl chromite, columbite-tantalite (coltan),
molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin, uranium and zinc.

A Case Study of Iron Ore Mining In Liberia.

Liberia has vast supplies and deposits of iron ore. She used to produce around 2.5% of world iron ore
production before the civil war (which ended in 2003) under mining companies such as Liberia-
American-Swedish Mineral Company-LAMCO. This iron ore was being exported to the USA. Iron ore
extraction has seen a revival in the private sector with projects undertaken by several companies such as
the Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County,
and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron
Deposits. Late they have discovered new iron ore deposits at Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama. A
railway line was constructed from Voinjama to Robertsport.

Mining of iron ore has witnessed a substantial growth in recent years (by 2021). Open cast method of
mining is used to remove the rich deposits of iron ore. Railway trucks carry the huge ore to the plant to
be crushed into small pieces. A conveyor belt carries it two miles down the mountain side to the rail
head at Yekepa where it is railed to Buchanana, 264km away. The ore has a 65% iron content which
makes refining much simpler and therefore, cheaper. Yekepa is a rail head city. Other iron ore towns
include Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba. Export ports include
Monrovia (the capital), Buchanana, Greenville, and Harper in the South to the extreme.

Factors That Have Led To the Growth and Development of the Mining Industry in Liberia.

Liberia holds the minerals that will be critical drivers of the Fourth industrial Revolution (4IR). These
include bauxite, beryl chromite, columbite-tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth
elements, silica, sands, tin, uranium and zinc deposit. Gold, diamond and iron ore form the core
minerals of the mining sector with a new mineral development policy and mining code being put in
place to attract foreign investors.

The existence of minerals in Liberia that are ranked as most critical by the United States, Japan,
Republic of Korea and the European Union including the United Kingdom as follows, Rare Earth
Elements(REE) and columbite-tantalite (coltan). These minerals have rejuvenated the mining industry in
the Liberia.

The mining industry in Liberia has witnessed a revival after the civil war which ended in 3003. This in
effect will centralize the trade, help better regulate the industry in the DRC by fighting mining fraud and
maximize state revenues. Gold, diamond and iron ore for the core minerals of the mining sector with a
new mineral development policy and mining code being put in place to attract foreign investors. During
the Civil War (which lasted 14years), many major minerals stopped operation and resulted in near zero
contribution to the nation’s economy. Other significant minerals reported are bauxite, beryl chromite,
columbite-tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin,
uranium and zinc

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Iron ore extraction has seen a revival in the private sector with projects undertaken by several
companies such as the Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in
Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and
Mano River Iron Deposits.

Liberia has vast supplies and deposits of iron ore. She used to produce around 2.5% of world iron ore
production before the civil war (which ended in 2003) under mining companies such as Liberia-
American-Swedish Mineral Company-LAMCO. This iron ore was being exported to the USALately, they
have discovered new iron ore deposits at Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama. A railway line was
constructed from Voinjama to Robertsport.

Following Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s accession to power in 2006 to 2018, the World Bank came back to
Liberia to support the reconstruction of the country’s economy devastated by 14years of the Civil war.
The liberalization of the mining sector was central to its strategy; it prescribed changes in the law to
allow to attract new foreign investors and organized the restructuring of state owned mining and
industrial assets to new joint venture projects with foreign private companies.

There is a wide variety of mineral deposits which encourages investments in the mining sector due to
being economically viable. Liberia has the large reserves of iron ore and bauxite, beryl chromite,
columbite-tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin,
uranium and zinc, and other minerals. These large deposits have attracted government funding and
various local as well as foreign mining companies. For example, Liberia-American-Swedish Mineral
Company-LAMCO.

Liberia is widely known to be the wealthiest country in the world, in the untapped resource wealth and
has an estimated 2billions in untapped iron ore deposits, including some reserves of coltan (where
elements niobium and tantalum are extracted) and significant quantities of gold, diamond and other
minerals. For example, Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in
Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and
Mano River Iron Deposits. Late they have discovered new iron ore deposits at Wologisi Mountain near
Voinjama. A railway line was constructed from Voinjama to Robertsport.

The presence of high quality and highly valuable minerals produced such as 65% iron rich ore, high
quality gold and diamond. Gold commands a high level of demand since it is a very precious metal as an
international currency and for decoration of jewelries. Diamonds are used as a cutting material (due to
its hardest nature). Diamonds are also used as materials for polishing as well as in jewelries. The high
grade of most of the Liberia’s deposits attract many companies and encourages mining investment.

There is presence of large water supply from both underground and surface sources such as Cestos
River, Saint Paul River, Cavalla River,Saint John River, Lofa River, Moa River Sinoe River,Mano River,
Mesurado River,Farmington River, amongst others. These water sources are necessary for refining
some minerals such as diamonds. The water is also used for domestic use in the labor camps. This also
encourages further investment in the mining industry especially the Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand
Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore
Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits.

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The rapid development and encouragement of the industrial sector in the Liberian towns such as
Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba as well as export ports of
Monrovia (the capital), Buchanana, Greenville, and Harper in the South to the extreme has led to the
growth and development of the mining industry in the Liberia. These industries use minerals as raw
materials. This enhances mineral exploitation and processing due to the available immediate market in
the various industries.

There is a large source of both skilled and semi-skilled labor employed in the mining sector. Cheap labor
to work in the mines is provided by the local people of Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills,
Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba and at the export ports of Monrovia (the capital), Buchanana, Greenville,
and Harper in the South to the extreme as well as migrant labor from neighboring countries Sierra
Leone, Ivory Coast, Guinea, amongst others. The foreign companies brought in many skilled workers
and trained local people to acquire the necessary skills such as geologists who carry out mineral
exploration, mining engineers and supervisors.

There is a reliable source of adequate capital resources that was invested in the mining sector provided
by the government, foreign and local companies. These are investing in the exploration, survey,
exploitation and processing as well as refining of minerals such as iron ore, Coal, Gold, and Diamond,
and other minerals. This has promoted the growth of the mining sector in Liberia..

There is availability of high level of technology which has led to the growth and development of the
mining industries. The high level of technology used was imported by foreign companies. This involves
earth movers, caterpillars, bull dozers and cranes. Most mines began as open cast mines but of today,
underground mining is also used by deep level miners. There is also alluvial or placer mining such as
alluvial diamond deposits. Modern mineral processing technology is used and all this in turn increases
quality and quantity of mineral production.

There is availability of a large market base for minerals and mineral products from both domestic and
international. Gold as part of the internationally acceptable currency reserve has an enviable ready
market especially in industrialized countries in Europe, Asia (Japan and China), and North America
amongst others. It should also be noted that Liberia exports minerals and mineral products to African
countries as well. Industries in Monrovia, Buchanana and Voinjama offer immediate market for such
minerals such as iron ore, gold, diamonds amongst others. This has therefore, promoted more
investment in the mining industry.

There is availability of cheap, reliable and well developed transport and communication network which
has led to the growth and development of the mining sector in Liberia. The country has many air
terminals such Monrovia, Greenville/Sinoe, Aeroporto De Buchanana, Nimba Airport, Voinjama. The
networks include the roads, railways and ports. A railway line was constructed from Voinjama to
Robertsport. Railway trucks carry the huge ore to the plant to be crushed into small pieces. A conveyor
belt carries iron ore two miles down the mountain side to the rail head at Yekepa where it is railed to
Buchanana, 264km away. Yekepa is a rail head city. These facilitate the movement of minerals ore from
mining centers to processing centers and mineral products to export ports. These transport connectivity
increase the mining investments.

There is availability of favorable and supportive government policies towards the mining sector. Due to
the Civil War, Liberia was isolated by economic sanctions and this gave the country an opportunity to

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develop artisanal mining. The government was and is able to set up the necessary transport and
communication infrastructure, creation of markets and economic liberalization which has allowed many
private companies into the mining industry. Gold, diamond and iron ore form the core minerals of the
mining sector with a new mineral development policy and mining code being put in place to attract
foreign investor.

There has been increased intensive research and discovery of more valuable mineral exploitation,
exploration, prospecting and later mineral refining. This also in turn promotes the quality and quality of
mineral production. Liberia produces iron ore, gold, diamond bauxite, beryl chromite, columbite-
tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin, uranium and
zinc.these include areas such as the Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron
Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain,
Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits. Late they have discovered new iron ore deposits at Wologisi
Mountain near Voinjama. A railway line was constructed from Voinjama to Robertsport.

There has been relative political stability since the end of the civil war in 2003 and the tenure of
president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf(2006-2018). The country has remained relatively stable which has
encouraged many local and foreign investors in mineral exploration, extraction and processing as well as
encouraging trade in mineral and mineral products since security of investment is assured.

There is availability of reliable source of food stuffs which has led to the growth and development of the
mining industry in Liberia. For example, areas such as the Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County,
the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including
the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama. These
areas are well-served with modern transport networks linked to the rich agricultural zones or belts.
Therefore, there is easy provision of food stuffs to the mine workers.

There is a large presence of foreign investors in Liberia which has led to the development of the mining
industry. It is Liberia’s government policy to attract foreign investors into the mining industry. For
example, foreign companies which has invested in gold mining and processing at the nines of Putu Iron
Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western
Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits,
Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama. Liberia used to produce around 2.5% of world iron ore production
before the civil war (which ended in 2003) under mining companies such as Liberia-American-Swedish
Mineral Company-LAMCO.

The mode of formation of Liberia’s mineral resources made it possible to carry out mining at ease in the
inception. Gold grains for example, are concentrated in reefs in very hard quartzite or quartz pebble
conglomerates. Gold is also found in re-distributed sediments. This makes it profitable to mine it.
Diamonds occur in volcanic plugs of ancient volcanoes. The erosion of the ancient volcanoes along with
parts of the plugs that contained diamonds exposed diamonds in river beds and banks. These are also
called alluvial diamonds. It was therefore, easy to carry out mining from the exposed minerals. For
example, Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba
County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano
River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama.

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There is availability of large quantities of power and energy supply such as hydroelectric power which is
used for smelting and refining of minerals. For example, Mount Coffee Power Station on River Saint
Paul (88MW) constructed in 1966 and rehabilitated in 2016, Firestone Power Station on River
Farmington (4.8MW) constructed in 1942. The country has vast potential in hydroelectricity. Further
plans are to build hydroelectric power project with the construction. This is expected to lead to the
development of Liberia’s mining sector.

The Role of the Mining Industry to the Economic Development of Liberia.

Positive contribution

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of Liberia through promoting the inflow of
foreign exchange. The Liberian major exports comprise minerals and agricultural produce. Since
minerals account for a bigger percentage of exports, iron ore, diamond and gold are therefore, major
foreign exchange earners. Gold contributes immensely to the country’s foreign exchange inflow. Part of
this income is used in improving other sectors of the economy. A substantial amount of foreign
exchange is also earned from the exports of diamonds to European countries, USA, the U.K and Asian
countries such as Japan, China as well as North American countries such as Canada.

The mining industry is a major employer, providing employment to cover a large number of people, both
from Liberia and from neighboring countries. This has raised the standards of the people of Liberia. The
jobs are created in the various stages of mineral exploitation ranging from extraction, exploitation,
processing, refining, transportation and exportation. Many people are employed in the mining sector.
Through income that the workers earn, there is improvement in the standards of living through building
better houses, accessing better education and health services.

The establishment of the mines in these provinces has led to the development of towns such as
Buchananam Monrovia and Voinjama. The growth of these towns has led to the great demand of the
agricultural and industrial produce and products. As the population increases in these towns or urban
centers, a number of facilities come up, such as banking, insurance, education, health centers, and
recreation, entertainment and research facilities.

There has been growth and development of social and economic infrastructures such as schools,
colleges, research stations, roads, railways, amongst others. The profits accruing from the sale of
minerals and mineral products have been used for the expansion of infrastructure. This has resulted in
cheaper and faster movement of goods, people and services which have led to improved services
delivery. These routes were initially put in place to link mining areas with processing centers as well as
export terminals. These networks have not only supported the mining sector but also other activities
such as industry, farming, and service amongst others.

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of industries, iron ore, gold, diamond and
other minerals being raw material in the industries that make jewelries and other highly valuable items
has promoted industrial expansion. Mining has led to the promotion of gold refineries, diamond has
promoted the emergency of diamond cutting industries, and the large deposits of Diamonds have
Promoted Gemstone Industries. These industries have also led to the development of secondary
industries such as electrical, machinery, mechanical and transportation which all provide jobs to many
people.

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Mining has contributed to the acquisition and development of industrial mining skills that are useful in
other sectors of the economy. Mining has therefore, spurred technological advancement. Mining has led
to the development of other sectors such as agriculture, trade and commerce- given the linkage with
such sectors. For example, the mining sector provides market for the agricultural sector through buying
food for the miners. This in turn, increases the national income.

Mining has led to the facilitation of technological development and research in the country through use
of modern mining methods such as underground mining and standardization of industrial processing
technology to improve the quality and quantity of products such as chemicals, electronics, jewelries and
diamonds.

The mining industry has promoted the diversification of the economy due to the development of the
mining sector and related industry which supplements on the number of economic activities. It has
therefore, reduced over dependency on few sectors such as agriculture; there by expanding the
economic base and national income based at Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the
Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the
Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama.

The mining industry has led to the promotion of good international relationships that are cordial, it has
promoted cooperation between Liberia and other countries such as the countries where mining
companies originate, countries importing the minerals and associated industrial products and they
include the USA, U.K, EU, Japan and China as well as the rest of Africa. This has increased trade and
economic contacts with those countries-hence more capital inflow. Gold for example, being a medium
of exchange is used by Liberia to settle international debts.

The mining industry facilitates capital accumulation such as gold mining which boosts the country’s GNP
of Liberia. The strong linkage between mining and manufacturing has increased the export earnings. As
a result, this has raised valuable capital to invest in various sectors and tourism sector. Around Putu Iron
Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western
Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits,
Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama.

The mining industry has led to the generation of government revenue in Liberia. This revenue comes
from the taxation of gold, iron ore and diamond mining companies. The government also taxes the
incomes of workers employed in the mining sector and the related industry. The revenue realized is
invested in various sectors such as fishing, manufacturing industry and development of agriculture
based at Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba
County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano
River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama

Mining of minerals have increased Liberia’s international standing in terms of respect and recognition.
This international recognition is a source of advertisement for Liberia in Africa and the rest of the world
which attracts a large number of foreign investors. It should be noted that Liberia is often referred to as
the land of iron ore because of having a place in world production of iron ore based at Putu Iron Ore
Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western
Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi
Mountain near VoinjamPutu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in

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Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and
Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama.

Mineral exploitation in Liberia has led to an increase in population numbers within the port of
Buchanana, Monrovia and at Voinjama to the north of the country. Such an increase in population
numbers has been the basis of the present high level of economic activities that characterize the mineral
areas of Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba
County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano
River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama. This economic status of Liberia in Africa has
made her to play an important role in West Africa in terms of political, social and economic processes.

Negative contributions of the mining industry.

The mining industry has led to dereliction which results from the ruthless exploitation of natural
resources without consideration for the future. In particular, most dereliction is the result of thoughtless
and uncontrollable mineral extraction and exploitation. Derelict land is theoretically land which has
been abandoned as useless or as too badly damaged to repay private person to improve it. Derelict
lands are ugly, denuded of vegetation, laced with stagnant pools of water or covered with mine tailing
or slag. This is evident in abandoned gold, diamond and iron ore mines in Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand
Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore
Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near
Voinjama.

Mining leads to the destruction of the landscape, leaving adits, shafts, quarries and heaps of soil or rock
waste in Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba
County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano
River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama. This gives rise to extensive areas of wasteland.
For example, the soil heaps led to the destruction and disfiguring of the landscape. The abandoned
mines, ditches, quarries and heaps of soil have created an ugly landscape and large areas of wasteland
such as heap.

Mining leads to pollution of the environment, that is, air, water and noise pollution. For example, Putu
Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the
Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron
Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama. Mining destroys underground water and lakes. In
addition, the dust from the various mines pollutes the air hence causing deadly disease in the mining
cities Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba. Export ports include
Monrovia (the capital), Buchanana, Greenville, and Harper in the South to the extreme

Mining is associated with frequent occurrence of mining accidents. For example, the sinking of soils,
patches of soils covering miners, collapsing of mine roofs, all these lead to the innumerable death of
miners. Land over underground mines may subside, causing houses to collapse or creating hummocky
ground unsuitable for any use and often full of pools of water. Shafts that are not filled in may lead to
accidents and old quarries and opencast pits may also be dangerous. Open cast mines which are
afterwards, flooded with water and gravel pits are often very deep and therefore, dangerous. These lead
to accidents on children. Tip heaps too cause special hazards, for example at Putu Iron Ore Project in
Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron

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Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain
near Voinjama and in the mining cities of Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong
and Nimba

Tip heaps of surrounding slag are also dangerous and tips of waste materials may contain large amounts
toxic materials which could be harmful to health of the people at Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh
County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project
including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near
Voinjama and in the mining cities of Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and
Nimba.

Mining has also led to wastage of industrial land. Where derelict land is in or near towns, it could be
profitably used for factories or housing if reclaimed. In fact, the derelict land often promotes urban
sprawl by forcing the town to expand in other directions sometimes at the expanse of agricultural land
and dereliction is a deterrent to modern development. Any new factory set up in the area would find it
difficult to obtain workers, especially skilled or managerial staff who would not wish to live in such
unpleasant surroundings such as Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore
Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi
Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama and in the mining cities of
Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba.

Mining has led to the ugliness of towns. People who love in areas where there is derelict land have no
pride in their towns. They do not like their homes nor gardens and such people in derelict mining towns
such as Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County,
and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron
Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama and in the mining cities of Wuteve (Voinjama),
Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba. They lose a sense of beauty of the natural
environment. Those people whose reactions are not deadened and indifferent tend to migrate away
from such unpleasant areas. This however, leads to urban sprawl in other towns and general spread of
man-made landscape at the expense of natural landscape.

Mining has promoted permanent damage to the landscape. In mining towns where derelict mines are
not rehabilitated much beautiful scenery may be spoiled. Heaps of rock waste in Putu Iron Ore Project
in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron
Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain
near Voinjama and in the mining cities of Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong
and Nimba have ruined the landscape in the mining areas. The destruction of the natural beauty not
only affects the aesthetic appeal of landscape but also damages its tourist potential.

Mining in Liberia has led to the emergency of ghost towns where minerals have been exhausted and this
has forced people to move from some minerals centers such as Yekepa to newly discovered areas with
minerals such as Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama. They also to other small
towns where there are more mining prospects. Modern planned settlements of higher costs have
apparently been abandoned in areas of abandoned mines.

Mining is also associated with a multiplicity of urban related problems and social ills. For example, urban
problems in in the mining cities of Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and

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Nimba include; sprawling shanty slum growth, there is also high crime rates such as rape, theft, robbery,
gang violence, homicides, xenophobic attacks against migrant workers and unplanned settlement units
as well as high rates of prostitution. It is very costly for government to eradicate these urban related
problems in these mining towns.

It should be noted that for the case of Liberia, the discovery of minerals such as gold, iron ore,
Diamond, Coltan (Niobium and Tantalum), have increased the urge by foreign powers of political,
economic and socio-cultural influence of Liberia. Earlier, after the discovery of these major minerals,
foreign powers meddled in Liberian politics and spurred the Civil War which caused untold suffering of
the people of Liberia. Today, there are still refugee settlement schemes and some politicians were
engaged in the lucrative exploitation processes.

Most of the mining activities of iron ore, Diamond, Coltan (Niobium and Tantalum), and other places
are operated by foreign transnational companies such as Liberia-American-Swedish Mineral Company-
LAMCO. This reduces the rate of re-investment in the Liberian economy and promotes illicit profit
repatriation to foreign countries such as the USA, UK and the European Union amongst others. .

Mining in areas of Liberia such has created regional imbalance. Mining cities such as Wuteve
(Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba and Export ports such as Monrovia
(the capital), Buchanana, Greenville, and Harper are developed. However, areas where there are no
mines have their cities still backward.

Mining areas have resulted into high rates of uncontrollable population migrations into the mines. This
has been a major source of social and political problems such as unemployment, poverty, shortage of
essential services especially in the mining provinces leading to growth and high rate of urban violence.
In the mines themselves, there has been frequent outbreak of labor unrest due to deplorable living
conditions and low wages.

The mining industry in Liberia has led to the loss of bio-diversity through clearing of forests and other
vegetables for mining space as well as through dumping of waste of rocks. All these lead to loss of bio-
diversity as the flora and fauna of the area are destroyed. While some fauna may be forced to relocate,
the habitat of the indigenous organisms are destroyed in Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County,
the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including
the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama
amongst others.

The scars left behind especially where open cast mining has taken place expose the land to agents of soil
erosion. Exposure of bare land enables soil erosion to take place easily which renders the land entirely
unproductive. This has led to the low level of development of the agricultural sector in the areas of in
Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and
the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron
Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama amongst others.

The mining activities of both the ground surface and the underground result in the lowering of the water
table when it is exposed. Thus, a lot of water flows away in Liberia’s mining areas in Putu Iron Ore
Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western
Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits,

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Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama amongst others. This leads to shortage of water in an area and as a
result the vegetation in the area may dry up. The area may become semi-arid due to this.

Some mining areas produce a lot of dust and smoke, thus causing a lot of air pollution. The mining and
processing of some minerals such as Diamond, Gold, Coltan (Niobium and Tantalum and iron ore
produces a lot of dust and smoke. The vegetation and the people in such areas are affected. Continued
blasting and the noise produced by the machinery at work cause a lot of pollution. Toxic gases emitted
from the mines pollute the surrounding air while water pumped from underground mines may pollute
water sources on the surface.

Acid mine drainage has been extensively recorded in parts in Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh
County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project
including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near
Voinjama amongst others. In addition dust produced during mining operations is generally injurious to
health and causes the lung disease known as black lung or pneumoconiosis.

Some minerals have a low demand and hence are just a stockpile. For example, since the end of Civil
War, the demand for iron ore, a source of steel alloys, in Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County,
the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including
the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama
amongst others were reduced in terms of activities. Some mines had been closed before 2003. Minerals
such as sand, aggregates and cement grade limestone occur widely. They are henceforth seldom traded
on the world market.

Mining in in Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba
County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano
River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama amongst others lead to neglect of other sectors
of the economy such as agriculture. This is because more able-bodied youth move for better paying job
in the mines.

Problems Faced By the Mining Industry in Liberia (Factors Limiting the Growth and Development of
the Mining Industry in Developing Countries).

It is important to note that up to the present, countries of the developed world continue to dominate
world trade and processing of mineral resources at the expense of the developing world, more
particularly, the tropical countries of Africa such as the Liberia. Examples of mineral rich states or
countries include USA, China, Russian Federation, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Australia, Canada,
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and many others. The political dominance of these nation states results from
their economic strength or prowess. The only economic strength of the developed nations such as
Liberia, relies in part, on her privileged access and bounty of nature to valuable domestic mineral
reserves such as iron ore.

The strength of the developed world serves in their favor to give them an edge over the minerals of the
countries in the tropical Africa such as Liberia. Several factors therefore, help to account for the
continued failure of countries in developing nations at improving their mining sectors. These factors
include the following:

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Some minerals in Liberia occur in small size in their deposits. For example, bauxite, beryl chromite,
columbite-tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin,
uranium and zinc. Most mineral deposits have small quantities that they may not be viable and
economic to exploit because they can run out in a few years. It may be uneconomical to exploit or install
expensive equipment or machinery. This discourages many investors in the mining industry. Liberian
mineral ore mines for example, face a danger of exhaustion in the foreseeable future due to high rates
of exploitation. This may be too risky a situation for Liberia-an economy without any viable alternative
exports which can potentially slow economic growth. It should even be noted that some mines in Liberia
have been closed due to the exhaustion, for example, at Yekepa.

The low grades of some minerals in Liberia has made it difficult for investors to set-up mines in such
areas. Because a large percentage of the mineral ore become waste material, mining attracts less
investment. In Liberia, the quality of iron ore and other minerals are of low grade hence, it is
increasingly more uneconomical to exploit or to install expensive machinery. Liberia has a variety of
minerals that seem to be in small quantities and uneconomical to be mined. Some of these minerals are
of low grades, hence have low demand at the world markets. This has made it uneconomical to exploit
such as bauxite, beryl chromite, columbite-tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, and phosphate, Rare
Earth Elements, silica, sands, tin, uranium and zinc among others.

The great depth of some minerals has led to the low level of mineral prospecting, exploration,
exploitation and processing in Liberia. Most minerals exist at great depth in the underground and hence
very expensive to exploit. They are subjected to a thick overlying burden such as bauxite, beryl chromite,
columbite-tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin,
uranium and iron ore. This increases the cost of exploitation since it requires sophisticated technology
such as shafts/underground mining methods and involves a lot of risks which the Liberians may not be
able to undertake.

Liberia during the Civil War under Charles Taylor faced economic challenges such as budget restrictions
imposed by the international financial institutions which forced the regime to divert its funds for
political purposes. This put the development plans of the mining companies in jeopardy. The companies
were unable to renew or maintain their machines and mining facilities. It is this vicious circle that led to
the decline of the mining industry. During the Civil War (which lasted 14years), many major minerals
stopped operation and resulted in near zero contribution to the nation’s economy. At first glance, the
long decline led to a severe deterioration of its camps due to failure at maintenance, buildings fell into
decay, roads collapsed, electricity was cut off, water pipes leaked and vegetation covered open spaces.
Today, the mining camps appear as ghosts of a bygone era, abandoned to the erosion of time for more.

There are many risks involved in the mining sector. The mining conditions are not appealing and this is
partly attributed to the deep overlying burden which can bury the miners/exploiters, high level of
pollution involved in form of noise and air pollution which causes deadly diseases. All these scare away
workers and potential investors in the mining sector in Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County,
the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including
the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama and in
the mining cities of Wuteve (Voinjama), Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba.

Liberia export their minerals as crude ores or raw materials. They rarely add value to their minerals. The
mining and sale of raw ores caused by the low level of industrial development in the country leads to

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low earnings from minerals. They earn less than what would be earned if they had undertaken mineral
processing and refinement. Therefore, the high costs of production are not compensated by the high
value in terms of exported ores which weakens and undermines tropical mining in the country and
particularly, at Putu Iron Ore Project in Grand Gedeh County, the Western Iron Ore Deposits in Nimba
County, and the Western Cluster Iron Ore Project including the Bea Mountain, Bomi Hills and Mano
River Iron Deposits, Wologisi Mountain near Voinjama and in the mining cities of Wuteve (Voinjama),
Bendajanear, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba.

The remoteness or distance of a mineral deposit from either the processing centers or transport hub
such as the coast. Most deposits in Liberia for example, bauxite, beryl chromite, columbite-tantalite
(coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin, uranium, zinc amongst
others. Therefore, the long distance travelled and the scarcity of viable transport infrastructures has
limited mineral production and mineral trade in Liberia despite having enormous mineral potential. The
dense tropical forests in Liberia has made the development of transport systems pretty difficult.

There is low level of adoption of modern, user-friendly and cheap technologies for productive and
economic mining methods. The low level of technology used in the extraction of some minerals in the
Liberia made it pretty difficult to expand the mining operations especially in case of small scale
underground mining for iron ore, diamond and gold. Moreover, the small operations make mineral
exploitation using modern technology unprofitable and very expensive, yet even most the mining areas
cannot afford to purchase expensive equipment.

Liberia faces a problem of inadequate capital resources to invest in the economic exploitation of the
minerals such bauxite, beryl chromite, columbite-tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate,
rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin, uranium and zinc. There is need for large amounts of electricity for
final production. The delayed exploitation of some of the minerals is due to the inadequate capital
resources. the purchase of mining equipment, building smelting and mineral processing plants as well as
associated infrastructures are all expensive to Liberia. Mineral survey and mineral mapping and
prospecting requires a lot of funds and expensive gadgets which may not be available.

Liberia faces a problem of limited skilled and technical labor force to work in the mining sector. The
mining provinces do not have many competent engineers, geologists and other scientists to develop and
manage mineral exploitation more economically. This is also attributed to the poorly developed training
in mineral exploitation and the general education system in tropical countries which trains theoretically.
This also explains why Liberia continues relying on expatriate personnel. There is inadequate skilled
manpower to undertake mineral exploitation since the required equipment and machinery are also
inadequate.

There is a problem of price fluctuation of mineral products on the world market. Prices of some tropical
mineral products have fluctuated more in the recent past leading to uncertain incomes. For example,
the prices of iron ore declined more in late 1990s such that even earnings from it reduced tremendously
for Liberia causing unfavorable terms of trade, hence limiting further investment in mining. By the mid-
1990s and early 2000s, Liberia was highly or heavily indebted to the IMF due to a balance of payment
crisis. The collapse of the mineral prices and exports due to aluminum substitute led to the closure of
some mines.

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There is limited market for some minerals in Liberia. Many other countries of the developed world that
would import tropical minerals have huge deposits of such minerals with better mining tools. For
example, iron ore exists in plenty in China, Russia, Australia, USA and South Africa and yet there are
also huge deposits of Gold in South Africa, and gold and diamond in the Russian Federation, all of which
further reduces the market for Liberia’s minerals. Some Liberia’s minerals have low market value, for
example, bauxite, beryl chromite, molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica, sands, tin,
uranium and zinc.

Minerals in Liberia have not been fully exploited in many areas due to political instability, during the Civil
War, a lot of coltan, gold and iron ore were looted by fighting forces. Each rebel group made their own
deals with foreign businessmen for cash or military equipment. Battle fields most commonly centered
on areas that had huge reserves of Diamonds and Coltan potential. Many minerals have not been
exploited and surveyed due to political insecurity and rebel insurgencies for decades limiting the
development of the mining industry. This greatly hampered the mapping and exploitation of minerals in
most parts of the country up to 2003.

The mining areas have for a long time been locked up in political squabbles and wars which negatively
affected the mining operations. The mineral wealth in Liberia such as iron ore, gold diamonds bauxite,
beryl chromite, columbite-tantalite (coltan), molybdenum, nickel, phosphate, rare earth elements, silica,
sands, tin, uranium and zinc, have not yet brought maximum benefit to the country because rebels used
to sell the minerals cheaply to American and European companies in order to obtain funds to buy fire
arms.

Unfavorable government policies towards the mining sector has equally been profoundly significant in
limiting the mining activities in Liberia. In the mining areas, government efforts are directed towards
many other sectors and providing social services but limited investment done in the mining sector, after
all some areas have less economic potential currently in terms of minerals or their known reserves.
Some governments also discourage foreign investors through high taxes and failure to maintain
transport and other crucial infrastructures.

There is a problem of inadequate and low level of development of power and energy sources in most
provinces of Liberia. The exploitation and processing of some minerals requires colossal or large
amounts of electricity. However, many potential power generation plants have not been established and
the existing ones have low voltage which further undermines the performance of the mining sector in
Liberia.

There is low level of research in the mining sector in Liberia. There is inadequate mineral exploration to
discover new mineral potential, partly attributed to inadequate funding and limited manpower.
Therefore, many minerals are not known to exist in some provinces of Liberia and thus low level of
mineral development is the effect despite the fact that there may be a lot of minerals in the earth’s
crust but have not been fully established in terms of location, quality and quantity.

Liberia does not have adequate mineral resources that act as the springboard of industrialization. Even
where they may exist, they appear in small quantities. These minerals are; coal that would spur the
quantity and quality of energy production, despite having iron ore which is key to the development of
the iron and steel industries, oil for petro-chemical industries is not found in large quantities, it is
annoyingly likely to be exported in its crude state. The failure to harness these key minerals led to the

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ripple effect of failure to take-off industrially, henceforth, making it pretty difficult to provide internal
market for Liberia’s minerals.

There is stiff competition from major mining nations such as the USA, China, Russia, Canada, Germany
and South Africa. These countries are unfortunately the markets of minerals yet they themselves have
established mining industries. Liberia cannot afford to gather the wherewithal to outcompete these long
established mining countries. Saudi Arabia, Russia, USA, and Norway for example, dominate the oil
industry and have since time immemorial, dictated oil prices on the planet-earth.

There is a problem of shortage of water resources for use in the various mines which have been
established. If we are to use the case of rivers such as Farmington and Mano River which are the major
source of water supply to some mining areas, where new mines which have been established, they are
now highly overburdened in terms of water requirements. For example, at Wologisi Mountain near
Voinjama.

There is problem of unfavorable terrain in some parts of the highly undulating Liberia. Some parts of
the country have mountainous relief and rugged terrain in the mineral rich areas. For example, Wologisi
Mountain near Voinjama, Bea Hills, Bomi Hills, Bong and Nimba hills. This presents a great challenge in
relation to transport development. The rugged and mountainous relief is also heavily forested making it
worse to establish transport nodes.

Oil exploration, exploitation and refining.

Oil Mining.

Petroleum, which is in its natural state is called crude oil. It is a compound of natural hydrogen and
carbon. Oil is thought to have formed from the decomposition of minute marine organisms which
collected in the sediments on the floors of some oceans and seas. During and after the formation of oil,
earth movements probably forced the oil out of the sediments into porous sedimentary rocks such as
sandstones and limestone. Sometimes, folding occurred and sometimes the oil bearing rock layers were
sandwiched between layers of impermeable rocks which prevented the oil from seeping away. Oil
trapped in this way, slowly moved along the sedimentary rocks and collected in pools in anticlines, or in
fault traps. Natural gas and water also usually occur in the oil bearing rocks, water collects below the
oil and gas, which has a lower density, above the oil. Sometimes, only gas occurs. When gas deposits are
large enough, they are commercially worked.

Oil Drilling.

When the oil bearing rocks have been located, a hole is drilled from the surface to the rocks containing
oil. This is done by means of a large metal structure called a derrick which steel tower called a bit. The
bit is slowly forced through the surface rocks. As the hole deepens, more steel pipes are added, and
this continues until the oil deposits are reached. During the drilling, mud mixed with water is forced
down the pipes to lubricate the bit and flush-out the drilled out rock particles. When the oil deposits
are reached, the oil gushes out if it is under natural pressure. If it is not under pressure, then it has to
be forced out by pumping.

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Today, oil deposits lie under the sea bed and are now tapped. This type of oil drilling is called offshore
drilling. The oil derrick has to be mounted on a concrete platform which is called an offshore oil rig or
oil terminal or platform.

Oil Refining.

The refining of oil consists of three basic operations, namely;

a) The breakdown of hydro carbon mixture into its different parts. The crude oil is vaporized and
vapors are then allowed to condense into liquid in a tall tower called fractioning column.
During drilling the separated hydrocarbon, which are called fractions are collected at different
levels as they condense into liquids. These fractions include the following:
i. Petroleum Gases and Gasoline.

Petroleum gases and gasoline are separated by cooling and gasoline forms a liquid. Petroleum gases
consists of butane, ethane and propane. They are used for making chemicals, while gasoline is used by
internal combustion engines whose power drives most of the world’s land transport.

ii. Kerosene; this is mainly used as a fuel for jet air crafts and lanterns.
iii. Gas oil; this is made into diesel oil which is used for powering Lorries and some locomotives.
iv. Residue of heavy oil

Residue of heavy oil; which, when distilled in a vacuum, produce lubricating oil, wax and bitumen.
Bitumen is one of the end products of distillation and it is a black residue used for making tarmac or
tarred bound surface roads.

b) The conversion of hydro carbons from one fraction into another.

This is done because there is a great demand for higher fractions such as petrol than there is for heavier
fractions of oil. The conversions are achieved by a process called cracking which may be either thermal
or catalytic. In thermal cracking, the heavier oil fractions are heated under pressure until they
breakdown into lighter fractions. Whereas in catalytic cracking the same breakdown is affected by using
a catalyst such as silica, which permits the change to take place at a lower pressure and temperature.

c) Purification of fractions; to remove various impurities especially sulphur compounds.

The Oil Industry in Africa.

Oil or petroleum and natural gas are the most important and highly valuable mineral in North Africa and
Africa at large in terms of economic returns. North Africa is the continent’s most developed oil region. It
has proven oil reserves and refining capacity. Three countries, Egypt, Algeria and Libya dominates the
region’s oil sector. Egypt’s oil and gas are in the Gulf of Suez and the Nile Delta. Using the 2013 data,
Algeria had around 18billion barrels of proven oil reserves, making it the eighth largest in the world
then. Libya, a member of OPEC, holds the largest oil reserves and is the largest producers of oil in
Africa, before 2011; the Arab Spring. Morocco and Tunisia are actively pursuing the expansion of their
oil sector in the upstream.

Existing evidence indicate that most West African countries have oil and natural gas deposits. Many of
the oil deposits are in Nigeria. However, civil strife and military coups in the region have hindered the
full scale exploitation of these oil wells sometimes leading to more conflicts.

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A Case Study Oil and Natural Gas in Nigeria.

Origin of Nigerian Oil

The search for Nigerian oil began as long as 1937 but it was not until 1956 that commercially exploitable
quantities were found in the Hot Steamy Mangrove Swamps of the Niger Delta. By 1968, oil had
become Nigeria’s leading export and has stayed that way ever since. Since the first discoveries, further
wells have been drilled and are in production both on land and in the sea-off the mouths of the delta.
Nigeria became a member of OPEC in 1972. Today (2020 data), Nigeria is around the eleventh largest oil
producing and exporting country in the world. The best ten from the top were United States, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iraq (OPEC), China, United Arab Emirates (OPEC), Brazil, and Iran (OPEC) and
Kuwait (OPEC).

Many of the oil deposits in West Africa are found in Nigeria. Oil in Nigeria is found both on land and
offshore in southern states. Oil exploitation in Nigeria began in 1957. As of 2013, 10% of the soil was
being refined and used locally in Nigeria. The rest is exported as crude oil to Europe, North America and
South America. Of the Nigerian states with oil, the Niger Delta Region is the most lucrative in terms of
oil. Most states have oil including Port Harcourt and Bedel. Oil producing fields include Warri, Niger
Delta, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal and oil towns include
Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt
and near Warri Town.

Today, Nigeria is the largest producer of oil south of the Sahara Desert. Large deposits of petroleum/oil
occur under the sedimentary rocks of the Niger Delta and the neighboring coastal plains offshore in the
ocean. The first commercial oil well was at Oloibiri West of Port Harcourt and soon after, others around
Port Harcourt started production. Other oil reserves are found at Ughelli in Bendel State. Refineries
were established at Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna.

In Nigeria, many companies both domestic and foreign are engaged in the oil industry such as Shell BP,
Gulf Oil, Mobil, Texaco Elf, Nigerian National Oil Corporation. Most foreign companies originate from
Britain, USA, France, Italy, Japan and Germany. Apart from petroleum, Nigeria produces Natural Gas, a
cheap clean industrial fuel (exploited together with oil). Other important minerals in Nigeria include Iron
Ore at Enugu and Hakpe near Lakoja, Coal mined at Lafia and Enugu, supplying power to industries, Tin
in Bauchi on Jos Plateau.

Factors That Have Led To the Development of the Oil Industry in Nigeria.

Physical Factors

There is availability of large deposits of oil reserves in the Niger Delta and at the bottom of the Atlantic
Ocean on the Nigerian Coast. Nigeria has got the largest proven oil reserves south of the Sahara Desert.
It is also economical to produce the Nigerian oil which has encouraged many oil drilling companies to
invest in the oil drilling industry in Nigeria in the River State. There are large reserves of oil or petroleum
at Oloibiri and Port Harcourt. The first commercial oil well was at Oloibiri West of Port Harcourt and
soon after, others around Port Harcourt started production. Other oil reserves are found at Ughelli in
Bendel State. Most states have oil. Oil producing fields include Warri, Niger Delta, Focados Terminal,
Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, and Bonny offshore Terminal.

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Nigeria is strategically located close to Western Europe and the Americas through the Atlantic Sea
Route. This enables easy access to overseas rich markets. Nigeria became a member of the Organization
of Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1972. This easy accessibility to lucrative foreign oil
markets encourages further investment in the mining sector at Oloibiri West of Port Harcourt and soon
after, others around Port Harcourt. Other oil reserves are found at Ughelli in Bendel State. Oil
producing fields include Warri, Niger Delta, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, and
Bonny Terminal.

The Nigerian oil and natural gas deposits or reserves appear in large quantities and are reported to be of
high grade quality. This is one of the reason why Nigeria is one of Africa’s leading producers and
exporters of oil and natural gas.it is only rivalled by Libya, Algeria and Egypt. By 1968, oil had become
Nigeria’s leading export and has stayed that way ever since. Oil has over the years replaced agricultural
products such as oil palm and groundnuts.

River state or the Niger delta is within easy reach of Nigeria’s main food growing belt. Therefore, there
was easy provision of the necessary foodstuffs to the oil field workers. This has boosted oil production at
Oloibiri West of Port Harcourt and soon after, others around Port Harcourt. Other oil reserves are
found at Ughelli in Bendel State. Oil producing fields include Warri, Niger Delta, Focados Terminal,
Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, and Bonny Terminal.

Nigeria’s oil has a low sulphur content and therefore, it is highly demanded in the international markets.
For instance, a sizeable percentage of Britain’s petroleum needs come from Nigeria. This factor has
made Nigeria to be ranked among the first 8 countries that produce the largest quantities of oil products
in the whole world. This oil is mined at Oloibiri West of Port Harcourt and soon after, others wells are
around Port Harcourt. Other oil reserves are found at Ughelli in Bendel State. Oil producing fields
include Warri, Niger Delta, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, and Bonny Terminal.

River state or Niger Delta has a relatively flat to gently sloping relief which has favored mechanization in
oil exploitation and construction of transport terminal terminals and routes. The plain relief is favorable
to mining oil and this region has large quantities of water that has to be pumped into the oil wells for oil
to jet-out. This oil is mined at Oloibiri West of Port Harcourt and soon after, others wells are around
Port Harcourt. Other oil reserves are found at Ughelli in Bendel State. Oil producing fields include
Warri, Niger Delta, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, and Bonny Terminal.

Human Factors.

The availability of adequate capital which was invested in the mining of oil in the Niger delta or river
state. This capital was provided by the local and foreign companies such as Shell BP, Gulf Oil, Mobil,
Texaco Elf, Nigerian National Oil Corporation. These foreign companies are attracted by large oil
reserves in the river state of Nigeria. Capital was also raised by Nigerian National Oil Corporation
(NNOC). This has enabled installation of oil derricks to drill the oil and building oil refineries such as in
areas of Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna leading to the expansion of the oil sector in Nigeria.

There is availability of both semi-skilled and skilled labor force to work in the oil mining sector. Nigeria is
one of the African countries with a high level of functional literacy and has a large force of trained
people in form of oil engineers, technicians, geologists and oil mining and accounting managers. Another
section of the skilled labor force are shipped into the country as expatriate workers from Western

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Europe, North America and Asia. Some workers are trained on the job by the foreign expatriates to
acquire the skills of oil drilling and processing. This increases the quality and quantity of oil production in
the Niger delta or river state.

There is availability of high level or improved technology employed in the mining activities in the niger
delta or river state. Since 1956, oil mining and refining has been progressing with advancing technology
such as the drilling pipe technology attribute to the mining companies. Previously natural gas was simply
lost but today, it is extracted as oil as it is being refined.one method of increasing production has been
the construction of offshore oil platforms and installation of offshore oil rigs in the Nigerian part of the
Atlantic Ocean where large reserves of oil are found. For example, Brass, Bonny, Forcados and Escarvos
Terminals.

There is availability of a large oil market both domestically and abroad. In terms of population since the
Nigerian population was around 200,000,000 by 2018.this provides a large domestic market for oil and
oil products. Nigerian mainly exports oil to the European Union, U.K, China, and USA. The oil is used in a
number of ways such as making chemical products and in the transport sector. Given the high grade of
oil with less sulphur content, the country supplies about half of its oil to the USA and the rest of the
other half to the European union, the UK and China.this has encouraged investment in nigeria’s oil
industry base at the Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bedel, Warri, Niger Delta, Focados Terminal,
Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal. The oil towns include Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny,
Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town. Other
reserves are at Ughelli in Bendel State. Refineries were established at Port Harcourt, Warri, and
Kaduna.

There is availability of both large or numerous and efficient transport systems since Nigeria is not a land
locked country and Nigeria is lucky to have oil reserves at the atlantic coast which minimizes the
transport costs to export markets. There is also an extensive system of pipelines laid down to transport
oil from the fields to oil collecting terminals such as the pipelines from Oloibiri to Port Harcourt. Port
Harcourt handles most of the Nigeria’s oil exports while other facilities for export are at Bonny and
Burutu.

There is availability of large quantities of power and energy in form of hydroelectric power at Kainji Dam
on the Niger River, oil and Natural Gas supports the powering of thermal generators using heavy oil in
the oil fields at Bonny Terminal, Brass Terminal, Forcados Erminal and Escravos Terminal. This power is
used in oil drilling and oil refining (which requires large quantities of power). This promotes efficiency
and hence large scale oil mining.

There has been setting up of various processing industries such as the completion of Port Harcourt
refinery that was owned jointly by the Nigerian government and shell BP made it possible to process
total output in in part. Other oil refineries have been established at were established at Warri, and
Kaduna.to increase the quality of output, instead of exporting crude oil perse. In turn, this has increased
the exporting earnings from oil mining.

There has been positive government policy towards the mining sector such as the liberal policy since it
has allowed many companies to invest in the mining sector. The government has encouraged many
companies to invest in the mining sector in the Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel,
Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt,

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Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna. The Nigerian government has, overtime,
been encouraging foreign companies by granting them tax holidays and protecting them against
competition. This in turn expands the mining sector. In the inception, the Nigerian government passed a
petroleum concession law designed to promote rapid development of oil resources then. Profits were
divided equally between the oil companies and the government.

The availability of relative political stability in most regions of Nigeria save for the remnants of the Boko
Haram militants. The oil industry suffered a severe setback during the civil war which started in 1967
when the region proclaimed the Republic Of Biafra. The bloody conflict devastated the oil production
before the federal Nigerian army defeated the Biafra separatists in the early 1970s. However, recovery
was rapid after the cessation of hostilities.

The Economic Importance of the Oil Mining Industry to the Development of Nigeria.

Positive contribution

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of Nigeria through promoting the inflow of
foreign exchange. The Nigerian major export is oil. Since oil and natural gas account for a bigger
percentage of exports, it is therefore a big foreign exchange earner. Oil contributes immensely to the
country’s foreign exchange inflow. Part of this income is used in improving other sectors of the
economy. Oil is exported to the USA, the U.K and Asian countries such as Japan, China as well as North
American countries such as Canada.

The Oil Mining Industry is a major employer, providing employment to cover a large number of people,
both from within Nigeria and from neighboring countries. This has raised the standards of living of the
people of Nigeria. The jobs are created in the various stages of mineral exploitation ranging from
extraction, exploitation, processing, refining, transportation and exportation. Many people are
employed in the oil mining sector. Through income that the workers earn, there is improvement in the
standards of living through building better houses, accessing better education and health services.

The establishment of the mines in the oil mining industry has led to the development of towns such as
Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt
and near Warri Town. The growth of these towns has led to the great demand of the agricultural
produce and industrial products. As the population increases in these towns or urban centers, a number
of facilities come up, such as banking, insurance, education, health centers, recreation, entertainment
and research facilities. These create more jobs for the people.

There has been growth and development of social and economic infrastructures such as schools,
colleges, research stations, roads, railways, amongst others. The profits accruing from the sale of oil and
gas products have been used for the expansion of infrastructure. This has resulted in cheaper and faster
movement of goods, people and services which have led to improved services delivery. These routes
were initially put in place to link mining areas with processing centers as well as export terminals. These
networks have not only supported the mining sector but also other activities such as industry, farming,
and service amongst others.

The oil mining industry has led to the growth and development of industries. This is because oil is a raw
material in the petrochemical industries and plastics industries. Mining has led to the setting up of oil

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refineries. These industries have also led to the development of secondary industries such as electrical,
machinery, mechanical and transportation which all provide jobs to many people.

The oil mining industry has contributed to the acquisition and development of industrial mining skills
that are useful in other sectors of the economy. Oil mining has therefore, spurred technological
advancement. It has led to the development of other sectors such as agriculture, trade and commerce-
given the linkage with such sectors. For example, the oil mining sector provides market for the
agricultural sector through buying food for the miners. This in turn, increases the national income.

Oil mining has led to the facilitation of technological development and research in the country through
use of modern mining methods such as underground drilling and standardization of industrial processing
technology to improve the quality and quantity of products such as chemicals.

The oil mining industry has promoted the diversification of the economy due to the development of the
mining sector and related industry which supplements on the number of economic activities. It has
therefore, reduced over dependency on few sectors such as agriculture; there by expanding the
economic base and national income based Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City
and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town.

The oil mining industry has led to the promotion of good international relationships that are cordial, it
has promoted cooperation between Nigeria and other countries such as the countries where oil mining
companies originate, countries importing the Nigerian oil and associated industrial products and they
include the USA, U.K, EU, Japan and China as well as the rest of Africa. This has increased trade and
economic contacts with those countries-hence more capital inflow.

The oil mining industry facilitates capital accumulation which boosts the country’s GNP of Nigeria. The
strong linkage between mining and manufacturing has increased the export earnings. As a result, this
has raised valuable capital to invest in various sectors and tourism sector basing on the oil towns of Port
Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt and
near Warri Town.

The oil mining industry has led to the generation of government revenue in Nigeria. This revenue comes
from the taxation of oil and natural gas. The government also taxes the incomes of workers employed in
the oil mining sector and the related industry. The revenue realized is invested in various sectors such as
fishing, manufacturing industry and development of agriculture based at Port Harcourt, Warri, Port
Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town.

The oil mining industry has increased Nigeria’s international standing in terms of respect and
recognition. This international recognition is a source of advertisement for Nigeria in Africa and the rest
of the world which attracts a large number of foreign investors. It should be noted that Liberia is often
referred to as the land of oil and natural gas because of having a place in world production of of oil and
gas based at the oil towns of Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil
refineries are around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town.

Oil exploitation in Nigeria has led to an increase in population numbers within the oil towns of Port
Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt and
near Warri Town. Such an increase in population numbers has been the basis of the present high level

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of economic activities that characterize the oil mining areas. This economic status of Nigeria in Africa has
made her to play an important role in West Africa in terms of political, social and economic processes.

Negative Contributions of the Oil Mining Industry in Nigeria.

The mining industry has led to dereliction which results from the ruthless exploitation of oil wells
without consideration for the future. In particular, most dereliction is the result of thoughtless and
uncontrollable oil extraction and exploitation. Derelict land is theoretically land which has been
abandoned as useless or as too badly damaged to repay private person to improve it. Derelict lands are
ugly, denuded of vegetation, laced with stagnant pools of water and oil or covered with mine tailing or
oil mud. This is evident in abandoned oil wells in the Niger Delta.

Oil mining leads to the destruction of the landscape, leaving ditches and heaps of mud, oil waste, soil or
rock waste in the oil towns of Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil
refineries are around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town. This gives rise to extensive areas of
wasteland. For example, the soil heaps led to the destruction and disfiguring of the landscape. The
abandoned mines, ditches, and heaps of soil have created an ugly landscape and large areas of
wasteland such as heap.

Oil mining leads to pollution of the environment, that is, air, water and noise pollution. For example, in
the oil towns of based at the oil towns of Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City
and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town and in oil mining areas of Kaduna,
Warri And Port Harcourt. Oil mining destroys underground water and lakes. In addition, the dust from
the various mines pollutes the air hence causing deadly disease in the mining cities.

Oil mining is associated with frequent occurrence of mining accidents. All these lead to the innumerable
death of miners. Land over underground oil wells may subside causing houses to collapse or creating
hummocky ground unsuitable for any use and often full of pools of water and leaking oil and mud. Open
wells that are not filled in may lead to accidents and old oil wells may also be dangerous. These lead to
accidents on children.

Oil mining has also led to wastage of industrial land. Where derelict land is in or near towns, it could be
profitably used for factories or housing if reclaimed. In fact, the derelict land often promotes urban
sprawl by forcing the town to expand in other directions sometimes at the expense of agricultural land
and dereliction is a deterrent to modern development. Any new factory set up in the area would find it
difficult to obtain workers, especially skilled or managerial staff who would not wish to live in such
unpleasant surroundings based at the oil towns of Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo,
Benin City and oil refineries are around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town..

Oil mining has led to the ugliness of towns. People who live in areas where there is derelict land have no
pride in their towns. They do not like their homes nor gardens and such people in derelict oil mining
towns based at the oil towns of Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and in oil
refineries around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town may lose a sense of beauty of the natural
environment. Those people whose reactions are not deadened and indifferent tend to migrate away
from such unpleasant areas. This however, leads to urban sprawl in other towns and general spread of
man-made landscape at the expense of natural landscape.

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Oil mining has promoted permanent damage to the landscape. In oil mining towns where derelict mines
are not rehabilitated much beautiful scenery may be spoiled. Heaps of rock waste and mud based at the
oil towns of Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port
Harcourt and near Warri Town have ruined the landscape in the mining areas. The destruction of the
natural beauty not only affects the aesthetic appeal of landscape but also damages its tourist potential.

Oil mining in Nigeria has led to the emergency of ghost towns where minerals have been exhausted and
this has forced people to move from some oil mining centers such as Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny,
Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town to newly
discovered oil wells. They also move to other small towns where there are more oil mining prospects.
Modern planned settlements of higher costs have apparently been abandoned in areas of abandoned
mines.

Oil mining is also associated with a multiplicity of urban related problems and social ills. For example,
urban problems in the oil mining cities of Port Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City
and oil refineries around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town include; sprawling shanty slum growth,
there is also high crime rates such as rape, theft, robbery, gang violence, homicides, xenophobic attacks
against migrant workers and unplanned settlement units as well as high rates of prostitution. It is very
costly for government to eradicate these urban related problems in these mining towns.

It should be noted that for the case of Nigeria, the discovery of oil have increased the urge by foreign
powers of political, economic and socio-cultural influence of Nigeria. Earlier, after the discovery of these
major minerals, foreign powers meddled in the Nigerian politics and spurred the Civil War which caused
untold suffering of the people of Nigeria. Today, there are still refugee settlement schemes and some
politicians were engaged in the lucrative exploitation processes.

Most of the mining activities of oil and natural and other places are operated by foreign transnational
companies such as Shell BP, Gulf Oil, Mobil, Texaco Elf, Nigerian National Oil Corporation. Most foreign
companies originate from Britain, USA, France, Italy, Japan and Germany. This reduces the rate of re-
investment in the Nigerian economy and promotes illicit profit repatriation to foreign countries such as
the USA, UK and the European Union amongst others. .

Mining in areas of Nigeria has created regional imbalance. Mining cities such Port Harcourt, Warri,
Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town are
developed. However, areas where there are no mines have their cities still backward.

Oil mining areas have resulted into high rates of uncontrollable population migrations into the mines.
This has been a major source of social and political problems such as unemployment, poverty, shortage
of essential services especially in the oil mining areas leading to growth and high rate of urban violence.
In the mines themselves, there has been frequent outbreak of labor unrest due to deplorable living
conditions and low wages.

The mining industry in Nigeria has led to the loss of bio-diversity through clearing of forests and other
vegetables for oil mining space as well as through dumping of waste of rocks. All these lead to loss of
bio-diversity as the flora and fauna of the area are destroyed. While some fauna may be forced to
relocate, the habitat of the indigenous organisms are destroyed around the mining cities of Port

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Harcourt, Warri, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port Harcourt and near
Warri Town amongst others.

The scars left behind especially where drilling has taken place expose the land to agents of soil erosion.
Exposure of bare land enables soil erosion to take place easily which renders the land entirely
unproductive. This has led to the low level of development of the agricultural sector in the mining areas
of Port Harcourt, Warri, Kaduna, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port
Harcourt and near Warri Town amongst others.

The oil mining activities of both the ground surface and the underground result in the lowering of the
water table when it is exposed. Thus, a lot of water flows away in Nigeria mining areas of Port Harcourt,
Warri, Kaduna, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port Harcourt and near
Warri Town amongst others amongst others. This leads to shortage of water in an area and as a result
the vegetation in the area may dry up. The area may become semi-arid due to this.

Some oil mining areas and refineries such as mining areas of Port Harcourt, Warri, Kaduna, Port Bonny,
Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town amongst
others produce a lot of dust and smoke, thus causing a lot of air pollution. The vegetation and the
people in such areas are affected. Noise produced by the machinery at work cause a lot of sound
pollution. Toxic gases emitted from the refineries pollute the surrounding air while water pumped from
oil wells may pollute water sources on the surface.

Acid mine drainage has been extensively recorded in parts of mining areas of Port Harcourt, Warri,
Kaduna, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port Harcourt and near Warri
Town amongst others. In addition dust produced during mining operations is generally injurious to
health and causes the lung disease known as black lung or pneumoconiosis.

Sometimes the oil mining industry suffers from a low demand and henceforth sold at a loss below the
production costs. Some 1,500 illegal oil wells were closed before 2018 in the country’s South East by the
Nigerian navy.

Oil mining in Nigeria in the mining areas of mining areas of, Warri, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Bonny,
Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City and oil refineries around Port Harcourt and near Warri Town amongst
others lead to neglect of other sectors of the economy such as agriculture. This is because more able-
bodied youth move for better paying job in the mines. This has led to reduction in the supply of food
stuffs which causes famine and starvation.

Problems Facing the Oil Mining Industry in Nigeria.

Due to technical problems and inadequate maintenance, oil refineries in the oil mining and refining area
can only produce up to half of their capable capacities. This reduced the production capacity in Kaduna,
Port Harcourt and Warri to 445,000 barrels per day. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region,
Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port
Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna

Due to the armed attacks in the Niger Delta, oil production fell short of the mark in 2016 when barrels
of oil production per day were estimated at 2.2million. This is because there is a problem of continuing

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civil conflict championed by the Boko Haram which causes disruptions in the oil transportation and
drilling activities. This impacts negatively on the quantity and quality of oil and oil products. As a result,
it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region,
Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal,
Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is a problem of a growing number of abandoned wells which are causing environmental concern
to the Nigerians. For example, shell is said to have abandoned 32 of their oil wells in Akwa Ibom State
axis of Nigeria. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the
areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos
Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City,
Ughelli and Kaduna

There is a problem of accumulated foreign debt following the slump in oil prices in the world after the
credit crunch in the USA in 2008 and then the effects of the world lockdown following the outbreak of
SARS-Cov2 (covid-19) virus in 2019-2021. These caused a slowdown in the world demand for oil and led
to unforgettable losses in Nigeria. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining
industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados
Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri,
Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

Overdependence on oil production for revenue to government and income to the workers. The Nigerian
economy depends a great deal on proceeds from oil exports at the expense of other sectors such as
agriculture. This was evident when the Nigerian economy faced setbacks due to reduction in oil
demand. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of
Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal,
Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli
and Kaduna.

There is a problem of stiff competition from oil producing giants of the world, for example, USA, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, amongst others. These countries dictate the oil prices and oil supply quotas and
they have a big bargaining power in the OPEC which makes Nigeria fetch low supply quotas hence
disruption of oil mining expansion plans. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil
mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados
Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri,
Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is a problem of serious effects of environmental pollution due to spillage of oil, sulphur and
carbon dioxide from the related industries and motor vehicles. This has a deplorable impact on the
existence of flora and fauna and most endangered life forms are being threatened. As a result, it has led
to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port
Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny
Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is a problem of continued exportation of jobs from possible petro-chemical industries that would
spring up and yet crude oil fetches low prices in the world oil market. Most oil workers are expatriates
which denies Nigerians an opportunity to access oil mining jobs from within their own country. As a

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result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta
Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass
Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and
Kaduna.

Very often than not, environmental pollution in the mining areas has spurred social strife and unrests as
well as social and political discontent which ignites strikes or riots. This has always disrupted oil
production and it has had a huge impact on oil income. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region,
Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port
Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is a serious and dangerous problem of frequent accidents of the oil gutting fire as it is being
transported through the pipelines. This often causes loss of life and destruction of property when the
pipelines catch fire from within the densely populated areas. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region,
Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port
Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

Following the shutdown in world industry due to the effects of the corona lockdown, there was a lot of
mining expenses that were incurred by the Nigerian mining industry. Oil was being produced at costs
above the market prices because it would highly costly to shut down the mining infrastructures. S As a
result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta
Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass
Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and
Kaduna.

Oil mining has led to a large influx of a large number of important labor into the River State or the Niger
delta. This has led to a high level of unemployment. It has remained source of conflicts and confusion. It
has also led to the deterioration in the standards of living. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region,
Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port
Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

Nigeria has become a major importer of food stuff because of diversion of agricultural labor into oil
mining. This leads to an increasing loss of the scarce foreign exchange which may impact on the general
economic patterns. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in
the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal,
Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo,
Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is a problem of fluctuation in the quantity and quality of oil being produced due to sporadic
political and territorial conflicts. Most of the oil has landed into the hands of wrong elements and this
has robbed Nigerians of trust from major oil importing countries. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region,
Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port
Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

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The recovery stages of the economic crunch of 2008 led to sky rocketing of oil prices and rapid increase
in income level of the beneficiary of the oil proceeds. This led to a high rate of demand for imported
luxurious good such as lavish cars and mansions which led to a balance of payment deficit which
weakened the Nigerian currency against the USA dollar. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region,
Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port
Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

Oil mining has led to uncontrollable growth of urban centers in the Niger delta. This has caused urban
related social ills such as prostitution, overcrowding and urban strife. As a result, it has led to the low
level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt,
Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal,
Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is an increasing vice of corruption, graft, embezzlement and misappropriation of the oil revenue
which has led to the low level of economic takeoff. Most of the funds from oil proceeds have been
swindled by unscrupulous oil managers and government officials. As a result, it has led to the low level
of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel
region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri,
Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is still a problem of unreliable transport and communication infrastructure. The roads, railways
and air terminals are still not up to modern standards. Most pipelines have not been rehabilitated and
there are no faster train services. These lead to delays in transporting oil and oil products. As a result, it
has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region,
Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal,
Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is still a problem of inadequate skilled and semi-skilled labor force to work in the highly technical
areas of oil mining. This has forced oil mining companies to import expatriate labor force who
unfortunately, may eventually repatriate their incomes to their home countries. The existence of few
technical workers has also led to delays in the efforts aimed at expanding the mining industry in Nigeria.
As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger
Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass
Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and
Kaduna.

There is still a problem of inadequate capital resources which would be directed towards development
of several offshore oil terminals and carrying out research about the various oil related products and
subsidiary industries. Capital is also needed in the continuous exploration of more oil wells. As a result, it
has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region,
Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal,
Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

There is still a problem of a small market base and frequent disruption in both the domestic and foreign
oil market due the low level of development of industries that would use oil and oil products as
industrial raw materials. The low level of income of the people of Nigeria also leads to a small market for

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oil since not many people may have machinery that would use oil as a source of power. As a result, it
has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region,
Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal,
Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna

There is still a big and dangerous problem of profit repatriation by the foreign oil mining companies such
as Shell BP, Gulf Oil, Mobil, Texaco Elf, Nigerian National Oil Corporation. Most foreign companies
originate from Britain, USA, France, Italy, Japan and Germany. These take out the needed capital which
would spur economic development. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil
mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados
Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri,
Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna

There is still a problem of expatriate labor force who are very expensive and demand to be paid in
foreign currency. This leads to draining of the country’s foreign exchange currency reserves which
impacts on the balance of payment deficit. Most foreign expatriates originate from Britain, USA, France,
Italy, Japan and Germany. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining
industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados
Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri,
Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna

There is still a problem of low rate of research undertakings which would expand the oil products to
produce other items from oil as raw materials. This has led to low level of industrial development
creating a ripple effect on the demand for oil. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of
the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri,
Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny,
Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna

It is important to note that up to the present, major oil mining countries world, especially OPEC
members continue to dominate world trade and processing of oil resources at the expense of the
developing world, more particularly, the tropical countries of Africa such as Nigeria. Examples of oil l
rich states or countries include USA, China, Russian Federation, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and
many others. The political dominance of these nation states results from their economic strength or
prowess. The only economic strength of the developing nations such as Nigeria, relies in part, on her
privileged access and bounty of nature to valuable domestic oil reserves.

The strength of the developed world and OPEC members serves in their favor to give them an edge over
the oil of the countries in Africa such as Nigeria. Several factors therefore, help to account for the
continued failure of countries in developing nations at improving their oil mining sector. As a result, it
has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region,
Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal,
Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna

Nigeria during the Civil War (1967-1970s) faced economic challenges such as budget restrictions
imposed by the international financial institutions which forced the regime to divert its funds for
political purposes. This put the development plans of the oil mining companies in jeopardy. The
companies were unable to renew or maintain their machines and oil mining facilities. It is this vicious

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circle that led to the decline of the oil mining industry. During the Civil War, many major wells stopped
operation and resulted in decimal contribution to the nation’s economy. At first glance, the long decline
led to a severe deterioration of worker’s conditions due to failure at supporting them, buildings fell into
decay, roads collapsed, electricity was cut off, water pipes leaked and vegetation covered open spaces.
Today, some oil mining camps in disused wells appear as ghosts of a bygone era, abandoned to the
erosion of time for more.

There are many risks involved in the oil mining sector. The mining conditions are not appealing and this
is partly attributed to the deplorable working conditions, high level of pollution involved in form of
noise, water and air pollution which causes deadly diseases. All these scare away workers and potential
investors in the mining sector. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining
industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados
Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri,
Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna.

Nigeria exports their oil as crude or raw materials. They rarely add value to their oil. Oil mining and
selling it in crude form caused by the low level of industrial development in the country leads to low
earnings from minerals. They earn less than what would be earned if they had undertaken oil processing
and refinement. Therefore, the high costs of production are not compensated by the high value in terms
of exported oil which weakens and undermines mining in the country.

There is low level of adoption of modern, user-friendly and cheap technologies for productive and
economic oil mining methods. The low level of technology used in the extraction of oil in Nigeria made it
pretty difficult to expand oil mining operations especially in case of small wells. Moreover, the small
operations make oil exploitation using modern technology unprofitable and very expensive, yet even
most the mining areas cannot afford to purchase expensive equipment. As a result, it has led to the low
level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt,
Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal,
Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli and Kaduna

There is a problem of inadequate and low level of development of power and energy sources in most oil
mining areas of Nigeria. The exploitation and processing of oil requires colossal or large amounts of
electricity. However, many potential power generation plants have not been established and the
existing ones have low voltage which further undermines the performance of the mining sector in
Nigeria. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of
Niger Delta Region, Port Harcourt, Bendel region, Bedel, Warri, Focados Terminal, Escravos Terminal,
Brass Terminal, Bonny Terminal, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Owerri, Aba, Uyo, Benin City, Ughelli
and Kaduna

The Oil Mining Industry in North Africa

North Africa is Africa’s most developed oil region. It has large quantities of proven oil reserves and
refining capacity. Libya, Algeria and Egypt dominate the region’s oil sector

The Oil Mining Industry in Libya

Introduction

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Oil and natural gas are the most valuable minerals in Libya- a North African country. Libya is a member
of OPEC, holds some of the largest reserves of oil and natural gas and it is one of the largest producers
of oil in Africa, especially before the Arab Spring of 2011 that toppled the then Benevolent Dictator;
Muamar Ghadaffi and after the end of the Civil War By 2021. In Africa, Libya was the 5th in Africa and
29th in the world in terms of oil production in 2020. There are several oil and gas fields in Libya and these
include 200-300km inland from the Gulf of Sidra, for example, at Sariri, Zetten and Hofra. Oil mining in
Libya originally centers on three major oil fields of Zeltan, Dahra and Beda. The far off oil mining centers
such as Amal, Nafoora and Gialo are directly connected to the refinery cities of Ras Landoff and Es-
Sider. Other oil and natural gas include Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat gas fields, Bouri
offshore fields, Defa oil and gas fields, Benghazi oil fields, Sirte gas fields, Tripoli oil and gas fields. Oil
fields found deep in the Sahara were tapped with the aid of pipelines connected to the coastal cities
that are engaged in oil refining. These oil cities are Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli,
Azzawiyah and Tobruk.

Libyan oil deposits are sulphur free and highly demanded in the world market. The Libyan oil is also easy
to mine in the majority of her oil fields. More capital investment had been sunk by the Libyan
government into the oil sector under Gadhafi. The pioneer oil mining companies in Libya were from
France, USA, France, and Germany before nationalization of oil fields by Muammar Gadhafi. For
instance, Amal, Gialo oil fields were originally mined by the American oil companies and German oil
companies. An America oil company known as Occidental made for major oil discoveries in Libya such as
Antisar. At the same time, other oil fields were financed by the British petroleum and American
independent company known as Bunker Hunt. These brought in a lot of capital.

During the time of oil exploration, there was discovery of large amounts of desert water (artesian
water). The artesian water was subsequently tapped to satisfy the then high demand for fresh water
from the oil fields. The countries that imported Libyan oil then included Italy, France, Germany and
Britain including African countries. Oil mining In Libya was boosted by the coming into power of the
Great Gadhafi after the Libyan Revolution of 1969. When natural gas was discovered in great quantities
at Marsa El Bregga, the mining sector was boosted the more.

Factors That Have Led To the Development of the Oil Industry in Libya.

Physical Factors

There is availability of large deposits of oil and gas reserves in Libya. Libya has got the largest proven oil
reserves in Africa. Libyan oil mining originally centered on three major oil fields; Zeltan, Dahra and Beda.
Others fields include; Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri.
Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli while Refinery cities include; Ras Landoff and Es-
Sider. Oil cities include; Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk.

It is also economical to produce Libyan oil due to its sulphur free content which has encouraged many
oil drilling companies to invest in the oil drilling industry in Libya. For instance, Amal, Gialo oil fields
were originally mined by the American oil companies and German oil companies. An America oil
company known as Occidental made for major oil discoveries in Libya such as Antisar. At the same time,
other oil fields were financed by the British petroleum and American independent company known as
Bunker Hunt.

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Libya is strategically located close to Western Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. This enables easy
access to overseas rich markets. This provided the opportunity for the accessibility of foreign market for
the Libyan oil and natural gas. For instance, Amal, Gialo oil fields were originally mined by the American
oil companies and German oil companies. An America oil company known as Occidental made for major
oil discoveries in Libya such as Antisar. At the same time, other oil fields were financed by the British
petroleum and American independent company known as Bunker Hunt.

Libya became a member of the Organization of Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) and this
gave them the opportunity for easy accessibility to lucrative foreign oil markets encourages further
investment in the mining sector. This oil is mined at Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli while Refinery cities
include; Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. Oil cities include; Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli,
Azzawiyah and Tobruk

The Libyan oil and natural gas deposits or reserves appear in large quantities and are reported to be of
high grade quality. This is one of the reason why Nigeria is one of Africa’s leading producers and
exporters of oil and natural gas. It is only rivalled by Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt. By 1968, oil had become
Libya’s leading export and has stayed that way ever since. Oil has over the year, replaced agricultural
products such as oil palm and groundnuts.

When natural gas was discovered in great quantities at MarsaSariri, Zetten and Hofra, the mining
industry was boosted the more.

Oil mining and gas fields are within the coastal fringes. It was easy to access the food basket of
Mediterranean Europe through the sea. Therefore, there was easy provision of the necessary foodstuffs
to the oil field workers. This has boosted oil production. This oil is mined at Amal, Nafoora, Gialo,
Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte,
Tripoli while Refinery cities include; Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. Oil cities include; Benghazi, Sirte,
Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk

Libyan oil has a low sulphur content and therefore, it is highly demanded in the international markets.
For instance, a sizeable percentage of Europe’s petroleum needs come from Libya. Libyan oil deposits
are sulphur free and highly demanded in the world market. The Libyan oil is also easy to mine in the
majority of her oil fields. This factor has made Libya to be ranked among the first 29 countries (2020)
that produce the largest quantities of oil products in the whole world. This oil is mined at Amal,
Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa,
Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli while Refinery cities include; Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. Oil cities include;
Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk.

Oil mining areas of Libya have a relatively flat to gently sloping relief which has favored mechanization
in oil exploitation and construction of transport terminals and routes. The plain coastal relief is favorable
to mining oil. This is done at the oil fields of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq,
Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli while Refinery cities include;
Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. Oil cities include; Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah
and Tobruk

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The oil mining and gas field region in Libya has large quantities of water that has to be pumped into the
oil wells for oil to jet-out. During the time of oil exploration, there was discovery of large amounts of
desert water (artesian water). The artesian water was subsequently tapped to satisfy the then high
demand for fresh water from the oil fields. This is done at Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli while Refinery cities
include; Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. Oil cities include; Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli,
Azzawiyah and Tobruk.

Human Factors.

There is availability of adequate capital which was invested in the mining of oil in Libya. More capital
investment had been sunk by the Libyan government into the oil sector under Gadhafi. The pioneer oil
mining companies in Libya were from France, USA, France, and Germany before nationalization of oil
fields by Muammar Gadhafi. For instance, Amal, Gialo oil fields were originally mined by the American
oil companies and German oil companies. An America oil company known as Occidental made for major
oil discoveries in Libya such as Antisar. At the same time, other oil fields were financed by the British
petroleum and American independent company known as Bunker Hunt. These brought in a lot of capita.
This has enabled installation of oil derricks to drill the oil and building oil refineries.

There is availability of both semi-skilled and skilled labor force to work in the oil mining sector. Libya is
one of the African countries with a high level of functional literacy and has a large force of trained
people in form of oil engineers, technicians, geologists and oil mining and accounting managers. Another
section of the skilled labor force are shipped into the country as expatriate workers from Western
Europe, North America and Asia. Some workers are trained on the job by the foreign expatriates to
acquire the skills of oil drilling and processing. This increases the quality and quantity of oil production.

There is availability of high level or improved technology employed in the mining activities in the Libyan
Oil and gas fields. Since 1969, oil mining and refining has been progressing with advancing technology
such as the drilling pipe technology attributed to the mining companies. Previously natural gas was
simply lost but today, it is extracted as oil as it is being refined. One method of increasing production has
been the construction of offshore oil platforms and installation of offshore oil rigs in the Libyan part of
the Mediterranean Sea where large reserves of oil are found. For example, Offshore fields include; Defa,
Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is availability of a large oil market both domestically and abroad. In terms of population since the
Libyan population was around 7million people by 2021. This provides a large domestic market for oil
and oil products. Libya mainly exports oil to the European Union, U.K, China, and USA. The oil is used in
a number of ways such as making chemical products and in the transport sector. Given the high grade of
oil that is sulphur free in content, the country supplies about half of its oil to the USA and the rest of the
other half to the European Union, the UK and China. This has encouraged investment in Libyan oil
industry.

There is availability of both large or numerous and efficient transport systems since Libya is not a land
locked country and Libya is lucky to have oil reserves the Sahara desert and near the coast which
minimizes the transport costs to export markets. There is also an extensive system of pipelines laid
down to transport oil from the fields to oil collecting terminals such as the pipelines that handles most
of the Libya’s oil and gas. Oil fields found deep in the Sahara were tapped with the aid of pipelines

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connected to the coastal cities that are engaged in oil refining. These oil cities are Benghazi, Sirte,
Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk.

There is availability of large quantities of power and energy in form of combined cycle gas turbines at El-
Feel Field, Western Mountain, Zelten field, Zwitina, oil based power plant at Jakhira, dual fuel (natural
gas and oil) Benghazi North, Zawia, Solar Plants at Kufra. These power is used in oil drilling and oil
refining (which requires large quantities of power). This promotes efficiency and hence large scale oil
mining.

There has been setting up of various oil processing industries, for example, refineries such as Ras
Landoff and Es-Sider made it possible to process total output in part. Other oil refineries have been
established in various places. In turn, this has increased the exporting earnings from oil mining.

There has been positive government policy towards the mining sector such as the liberal policy since it
has allowed many companies to invest in the mining sector. The government has encouraged many
companies to invest in the mining sector. The Libyan government has, overtime, been encouraging
foreign companies by granting them tax holidays and protecting them against competition. This in turn
expands the mining sector. In the inception, the Libyan government passed a petroleum law designed to
promote rapid development of oil resources then. Profits were divided accordingly between the oil
companies and the government.

The availability of relative political stability in most regions of Libyan save for the remnants of the
Gadhafi regime who waged a civil war between, 2011 -2021. The oil industry suffered a severe setback
during the civil war which started in 2011 with the Arab Spring, when the region proclaimed. The bloody
conflict devastated the oil production before Turkey deployed troops to force rebels into peace talk.
However, the recovery was rapid after the cessation of hostilities.

Problems Facing the Oil Mining Industry in Libya.

There is a problem of continuing civil conflict championed by the National Liberation Army, National
Transitional Council, Islamic Fighting Group, Libyan Jamahiriya, and Libyan Armed Forces amongst
others. These forces cause disruptions in the oil transportation and drilling activities. This impacts
negatively on the quantity and quality of oil and oil products. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is a problem of accumulated foreign debt following the slump in oil prices in the world after the
credit crunch in the USA in 2008 and then the effects of the world lockdown following the outbreak of
SARS-Cov2 (covid-19) virus in 2019-2021. These caused a slowdown in the world demand for oil and led
to unforgettable losses in Libya. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining
industry in the areas of in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa,
Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

Overdependence on oil production for revenue to government and income to the workers. The Libyan
economy depends a great deal on proceeds from oil exports at the expense of other sectors such as
agriculture. This was evident when the Libyan economy faced setbacks due to reduction in oil demand.
As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of in the

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areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields
include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is a problem of stiff competition from oil producing giants of the world, for example, USA, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, amongst others. These countries dictate the oil prices and oil supply quotas and
they have a big bargaining power in the OPEC which makes Libya fetch low supply quotas hence
disruption of oil mining expansion plans. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil
mining industry in the areas of in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq,
Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is a problem of serious effects of environmental pollution due to spillage of oil and carbon dioxide
from the related industries and motor vehicles. This has a deplorable impact on the existence of flora
and fauna and most endangered life forms are being threatened. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba,
Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is a problem of continued exportation of jobs from possible petro-chemical industries that would
spring up and yet crude oil fetches low prices in the world oil market. Most oil workers are expatriates
which denies Libyans an opportunity to access oil mining jobs from within their own country. The
pioneer oil mining companies in Libya were from France, USA, France, and Germany before
nationalization of oil fields by Muammar Gadhafi. For instance, Amal, Gialo oil fields were originally
mined by the American oil companies and German oil companies. An America oil company known as
Occidental made for major oil discoveries in Libya such as Antisar. As a result, it has led to the low level
of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

Very often than not, environmental pollution in the mining areas has spurred social strife and unrests as
well as social and political discontent which ignites strikes or riots. This has always disrupted oil
production and it has had a huge impact on oil income. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is a serious and dangerous problem of frequent accidents of the oil gutting fire as it is being
transported through the pipelines. This often causes loss of life and destruction of property when the
pipelines catch fire from within the densely populated areas. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

Following the shutdown in world industry due to the effects of the corona lockdown, there was a lot of
mining expenses that were incurred by the Nigerian mining industry. Oil was being produced at costs
above the market prices because it would highly costly to shut down the mining infrastructures. S As a
result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of.

Oil mining has led to a large influx of a large number of imported labor into the Amal, Nafoora, Gialo,
Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte,
Tripoli. This has led to a high level of unemployment. It has remained source of conflicts and confusion.

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It has also led to the deterioration in the standards of living. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas.

Libya has become a major importer of food stuff because of diversion of agricultural labor into oil
mining. This leads to an increasing loss of the scarce foreign exchange which may impact on the general
economic patterns. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in
the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields
include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is a problem of fluctuation in the quantity and quality of oil being produced due to sporadic
political and territorial conflicts. Most of the oil has landed into the hands of wrong elements and this
has robbed Libyans of trust from major oil importing countries. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

The recovery stages of the economic crunch of 2008 led to sky rocketing of oil prices and rapid increase
in income level of the beneficiary of the oil proceeds. This led to a high rate of demand for imported
luxurious good such as lavish cars and constructed mansions which led to a balance of payment deficit
which weakened the Libyan currency against the USA dollar. As a result, it has led to the low level of
development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

Oil mining has led to uncontrollable growth of urban centers in the Niger delta. This has caused urban
related social ills such as prostitution, overcrowding and urban strife. As a result, it has led to the low
level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of.

There is an increasing vice of corruption, graft, embezzlement and misappropriation of the oil revenue
which has led to the low level of economic takeoff. Most of the funds from oil proceeds have been
swindled by unscrupulous oil managers and government officials. As a result, it has led to the low level
of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha,
Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is still a problem of unreliable transport and communication infrastructure. The roads, railways
and air terminals are still not up to modern standards. Most pipelines have not been rehabilitated and
there are no faster train services. These lead to delays in transporting oil and oil products. As a result, it
has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo,
Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte,
Tripoli.

There is still a problem of inadequate skilled and semi-skilled labor force to work in the highly technical
areas of oil mining. This has forced oil mining companies to import expatriate labor force who
unfortunately, may eventually repatriate their incomes to their home countries. The existence of few
technical workers has also led to delays in the efforts aimed at expanding the mining industry in Libya.
The pioneer oil mining companies in Libya were from France, USA, France, and Germany before
nationalization of oil fields by Muammar Gadhafi. For instance, Amal, Gialo oil fields were originally
mined by the American oil companies and German oil companies. An America oil company known as
Occidental made for major oil discoveries in Libya such as Antisar.

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There is still a problem of inadequate capital resources which would be directed towards development
of several offshore oil terminals and carrying out research about the various oil related products and
subsidiary industries. Capital is also needed in the continuous exploration of more oil wells. As a result, it
has led to the low level of development of the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo,
Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte,
Tripoli.

There is still a problem of a small market base and frequent disruption in both the domestic and foreign
oil market due the low level of development of industries that would use oil and oil products as
industrial raw materials. The low level of income of the people of Libyans also leads to a small market
for oil since not many people may have machinery that would use oil as a source of power in areas of
Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa,
Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

There is still a big and dangerous problem of profit repatriation by the foreign oil mining companies For
instance, Amal, Gialo oil fields were originally mined by the American oil companies and German oil
companies. An America oil company known as Occidental made for major oil discoveries in Libya such as
Antisar. At the same time, other oil fields were financed by the British petroleum and American
independent company known as Bunker Hunt. Most foreign companies originate from Britain, USA,
France, Italy, Japan and Germany. These take out the needed capital which would spur economic
development.

There is still a problem of expatriate labor force who are very expensive and demand to be paid in
foreign currency. This leads to draining of the country’s foreign exchange currency reserves which
impacts on the balance of payment deficit. Most foreign expatriates originate from Britain, USA, France,
Italy, Japan and Germany. This has negatively impacted on the oil mining activities in Amal, Nafoora,
Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte,
Tripoli.

There is still a problem of low rate of research undertakings which would expand the oil products to
produce other items from oil as raw materials. This has led to low level of industrial development
creating a ripple effect on the demand for oil. As a result, it has led to the low level of development of
the oil mining industry in the areas of Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa,
Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli.

It is important to note that up to the present, major oil mining countries of the world, especially OPEC
members continue to dominate world trade and processing of oil resources at the expense of the
developing world, more particularly, the countries of Africa such as Libya. Examples of oil rich states or
countries include USA, China, Russian Federation, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and many others.
The political dominance of these nation states results from their economic strength or prowess. The
strength of the developed world and OPEC members serves in their favor to give them an edge over the
oil of the countries in Africa such as Libya. Several factors therefore, help to account for the continued
failure of countries in developing nations at improving their oil mining sector.

Libya during the Gadhafi’s regime (1969-2011) faced economic challenges such as budget restrictions
imposed by the international financial institutions which forced the regime to divert its funds for
political purposes. This put the development plans of the oil mining companies in jeopardy. The

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companies were unable to renew or maintain their machines and oil mining facilities. It is this vicious
circle that led to the decline of the oil mining industry. During the Civil War, (2011-2021) many major
wells stopped operation and resulted in decimal contribution to the nation’s economy. At first glance,
the long decline led to a severe deterioration of worker’s conditions due to failure at supporting them,
buildings fell into decay, roads collapsed, electricity was cut off and water pipes leaked. Today, some oil
mining camps in disused wells appear as ghosts of a bygone era, abandoned to the erosion of time.

There are many risks involved in the oil mining sector. The mining conditions are not appealing and this
is partly attributed to the deplorable working conditions, high level of pollution involved in form of
noise, water and air pollution which causes deadly diseases. All these scare away workers and potential
investors in the mining sector based at Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa,
Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli while Refinery cities include; Ras
Landoff and Es-Sider. Oil cities include; Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and
Tobruk.

Libya exports most of their oil as crude or raw materials. They rarely add value to their oil. Oil mining
and selling it in crude form caused by the low level of industrial development in the country and leads to
low earnings from minerals. They earn less than what would be earned if they had undertaken oil
processing and refinement. Therefore, the high costs of production are not compensated by the high
value in terms of exported oil which weakens and undermines mining in the country based at Amal,
Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri. Offshore fields include; Defa,
Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli while Refinery cities include; Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. Oil cities include;
Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk.

There is low level of adoption of modern, user-friendly and cheap technologies for productive and
economic oil mining methods. The low level of technology used in the extraction of oil in Libya made it
pretty difficult to expand oil mining operations especially in case of small wells. Moreover, the small
operations make oil exploitation using modern technology unprofitable and very expensive, yet even
most the mining areas cannot afford to purchase expensive equipment.

There is a problem of inadequate and low level of development of power and energy sources in most oil
mining areas of Libya such as Amal, Nafoora, Gialo, Raguba, Waha, Sabha, Murzuq, Wafa, Ghat, Bouri.
Offshore fields include; Defa, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli while Refinery cities include; Ras Landoff and Es-
Sider. Oil cities include; Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk. The
exploitation and processing of oil requires colossal or large amounts of electricity. However, many
potential power generation plants have not been established and the existing ones have low voltage
which further undermines the performance of the mining sector in Libya.

The Economic Importance of the Oil Mining Industry to the Development of Libya.

Positive contribution

The mining industry has led to the growth and development of Libya through promoting the inflow of
foreign exchange. The Libyan major export is oil. Since oil and natural gas account for a bigger
percentage of exports, it is therefore a big foreign exchange earner. Oil contributes immensely to the
country’s foreign exchange inflow. Part of this income is used in improving other sectors of the

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economy. Libyan oil is exported to Italy, France, Germany and Britain including African countries, Asian
countries such as Japan, China as well as North American countries such as Canada.

The Oil Mining Industry is a major employer, providing employment to cover a large number of people,
both from within Libya and from neighboring countries. This has raised the standards of living of the
people of Libya. The jobs are created in the various stages of mineral exploitation ranging from
extraction, exploitation, processing, refining, transportation and exportation. Many people are
employed in the oil mining sector. Through income that the workers earn, there is improvement in the
standards of living through building better houses, accessing better education and health services.

The establishment of the mines in the oil mining industry has led to the development of towns such as
Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk and oil refineries are around
Refinery cities include; Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. The growth of these towns has led to the great
demand of the agricultural produce and industrial products. As the population increases in these towns
or urban centers, a number of facilities come up, such as banking, insurance, education, health centers,
and recreation, entertainment and research facilities. These create more jobs for the people.

There has been growth and development of social and economic infrastructures such as schools,
colleges, research stations, roads, railways, amongst others. The profits accruing from the sale of oil and
gas products have been used for the expansion of infrastructure. This has resulted in cheaper and faster
movement of goods, people and services which have led to improved services delivery. These routes
were initially put in place to link mining areas with processing centers as well as export terminals. These
networks have not only supported the mining sector but also other activities such as industry, farming,
and service amongst others.

The oil mining industry in Libya has led to the growth and development of industries. This is because oil
is a raw material in the petrochemical industries and plastics industries. Mining has led to the setting up
of oil refineries. These industries have also led to the development of secondary industries such as
electrical, machinery, mechanical and transportation which all provide jobs to many people.

The oil mining industry has contributed to the acquisition and development of industrial mining skills
that are useful in other sectors of the economy. Oil mining has therefore, spurred technological
advancement. It has led to the development of other sectors such as agriculture, trade and commerce-
given the linkage with such sectors. For example, the oil mining sector provides market for the
agricultural sector through buying food for the miners. This in turn, increases the national income.

Oil mining has led to the facilitation of technological development and research in the country through
use of modern mining methods such as underground drilling and standardization of industrial processing
technology to improve the quality and quantity of products such as chemicals. This is evident in oil
mining cities of Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk.

The oil mining industry has promoted the diversification of the economy due to the development of the
mining sector and related industry which supplements on the number of economic activities. It has
therefore, reduced over dependency on few sectors such as agriculture; there by expanding the
economic base and national income based at the oil mining cities of Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-
Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk.

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The oil mining industry has led to the promotion of good international relationships that are cordial, it
has promoted cooperation between Libya and other countries such as the countries where oil mining
companies originate, countries importing the Libyan oil and associated industrial products and they
include the USA, U.K, E.U, Japan and China as well as the rest of Africa. This has increased trade and
economic contacts with those countries-hence more capital inflow in

The oil mining industry facilitates capital accumulation which boosts the country’s GNP of Libya. The
strong linkage between mining and manufacturing has increased the export earnings. As a result, this
has raised valuable capital to invest in various sectors and tourism sector basing on the oil towns of
Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are
around refinery cities of Ras Landoff and Es-Sider.

The oil mining industry has led to the generation of government revenue in Libya. This revenue comes
from the taxation of oil and natural gas. The government also taxes the incomes of workers employed in
the oil mining sector and the related industry. The revenue realized is invested in various sectors such as
fishing, manufacturing industry and development of agriculture based at Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-
Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-
Sider.

The oil mining industry has increased Libya’s international standing in terms of respect and recognition.
This international recognition is a source of advertisement for Libya in Africa and the rest of the world
which attracts a large number of foreign investors. It should be noted that Libya is often referred to as
the land of oil and natural gas because of having a place in world production of oil and gas based at the
oil towns Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil
refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider.

Oil exploitation in Libya has led to an increase in population numbers within the oil towns of Benghazi,
Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras
Landoff and Es-Sider. Such an increase in population numbers has been the basis of the present high
level of economic activities that characterize the oil mining areas. This economic status of Libya in Africa
has made her to play an important role in North Africa in terms of political, social and economic
processes.

Negative Contributions of the Oil Mining Industry in Nigeria.

The mining industry has led to dereliction which results from the ruthless exploitation of oil wells
without consideration for the future. In particular, most dereliction is the result of thoughtless and
uncontrollable oil extraction and exploitation. Derelict land is theoretically land which has been
abandoned as useless or as too badly damaged to repay private person to improve it. Derelict lands are
ugly, denuded of vegetation, laced with stagnant pools of water and oil or covered with mine tailing or
oil mud. This is evident in abandoned oil wells in the Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli,
Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider.

Oil mining leads to the destruction of the landscape, leaving ditches and heaps of mud, oil waste, and
soil or rock waste in the oil towns Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk,
Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. This gives rise to extensive areas of
wasteland. For example, the soil heaps led to the destruction and disfiguring of the landscape. The

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abandoned mines, ditches, and heaps of soil have created an ugly landscape and large areas of
wasteland such as heap.

Oil mining leads to pollution of the environment, that is, air, water and noise pollution. For example, in
the oil towns of based at the oil towns Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and
Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. Oil mining destroys
underground water and lakes. In addition, the dust from the various mines pollutes the air hence
causing deadly disease in the mining cities.

Oil mining is associated with frequent occurrence of mining accidents. All these lead to the innumerable
death of miners. Land over underground oil wells may subside causing houses to collapse or creating
hummocky ground unsuitable for any use and often full of pools of water and leaking oil and mud. Open
wells that are not filled in may lead to accidents and old oil wells may also be dangerous. These lead to
accidents on children in Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal,
Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider.

Oil mining has also led to wastage of industrial land. Where derelict land is in or near towns, it could be
profitably used for factories or housing if reclaimed. In fact, the derelict land often promotes urban
sprawl by forcing the town to expand in other directions sometimes at the expense of agricultural land
and dereliction is a deterrent to modern development. Any new factory set up in the area would find it
difficult to obtain workers, especially skilled or managerial staff who would not wish to live in such
unpleasant surroundings based at the oil towns Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli,
Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider.

Oil mining has led to the ugliness of towns. People who live in areas where there is derelict land have no
pride in their towns. They do not like their homes nor gardens and such people in derelict oil mining
towns based at the oil towns of Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk,
Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider. may lose a sense of beauty of the
natural environment. Those people whose reactions are not deadened and indifferent tend to migrate
away from such unpleasant areas. This however, leads to urban sprawl in other towns and general
spread of man-made landscape at the expense of natural landscape.

Oil mining in Libya has promoted permanent damage to the landscape. In oil mining towns where
derelict mines are not rehabilitated much beautiful scenery may be spoiled. Heaps of rock waste and
mud based at the oil towns Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal,
Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider have ruined the landscape in the mining
areas. The destruction of the natural beauty not only affects the aesthetic appeal of landscape but also
damages its tourist potential.

Oil mining in Libya has led to the emergency of ghost towns where minerals have been exhausted and
this has forced people to move from some oil mining centers such as Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-
Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-
Sider newly discovered oil wells. They also move to other small towns where there are more oil mining
prospects. Modern planned settlements of higher costs have apparently been abandoned in areas of
abandoned mines.

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Oil mining is also associated with a multiplicity of urban related problems and social ills. For example,
urban problems in the oil mining cities Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and
Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider include; sprawling shanty
slum growth, there is also high crime rates such as rape, theft, robbery, gang violence, homicides,
xenophobic attacks against migrant workers and unplanned settlement units as well as high rates of
prostitution. It is very costly for government to eradicate these urban related problems in these mining
towns.

It should be noted that for the case of Libya, the discovery of oil have increased the urge by foreign
powers of political, economic and socio-cultural influence of Libya. Earlier, after the discovery of these
major minerals, foreign powers meddled in the Libyan politics and spurred the Civil War which caused
untold suffering of the people of Libya. Today, there are still refugee settlement schemes and some
politicians were engaged in the lucrative exploitation processes.

Most of the mining activities of oil and natural gas and other places are operated by foreign
transnational companies. Most foreign companies originate from Britain, USA, France, Italy, Japan and
Germany. This reduces the rate of re-investment in the Libyan economy and promotes illicit profit
repatriation to foreign countries such as the USA, UK and the European Union amongst others. .

Mining in areas of Libya has created regional imbalance. Mining cities such Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-
Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-
Sider are developed. However, areas where there are no mines have their cities still backward.

Oil mining areas have resulted into high rates of uncontrollable population migrations into the mines.
This has been a major source of social and political problems such as unemployment, poverty, shortage
of essential services especially in the oil mining areas leading to growth and high rate of urban violence.
In the mines themselves, there has been frequent outbreak of labor unrest due to deplorable living
conditions and low wages.

The mining industry in Libya has led to the loss of bio-diversity through clearing of forests and other
vegetables for oil mining space as well as through dumping of waste of rocks. All these lead to loss of
bio-diversity as the flora and fauna of the area are destroyed. While some fauna may be forced to
relocate, the habitat of the indigenous organisms are destroyed around the mining cities of Benghazi,
Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras
Landoff and Es-Sider amongst others.

The scars left behind especially where drilling has taken place expose the land to agents of soil erosion.
Exposure of bare land enables soil erosion to take place easily which renders the land entirely
unproductive. This has led to the low level of development of the agricultural sector in the mining areas
of Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries
are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider amongst others.

The oil mining activities of both the ground surface and the underground result in the lowering of the
water table when it is exposed. Thus, a lot of water flows away in Nigeria mining areas of Benghazi,
Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras
Landoff and Es-Sider. This leads to shortage of water in an area and as a result the vegetation in the
area may dry up. The area may become semi-arid due to this.

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Some oil mining areas of Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal,
Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider amongst others produce a lot of dust and
smoke, thus causing a lot of air pollution. The vegetation and the people in such areas are affected.
Noise produced by the machinery at work cause a lot of sound pollution. Toxic gases emitted from the
refineries pollute the surrounding air while water pumped from oil wells may pollute water sources on
the surface.

Acid mine drainage has been extensively recorded in parts of mining areas of Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah,
Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-
Sider. In addition dust produced during mining operations is generally injurious to health and causes the
lung disease known as black lung or pneumoconiosis.

Sometimes the oil mining industry suffers from a low demand and henceforth oil and natural gas may be
sold at a loss below the production costs. A lot of illegal oil wells were closed in Benghazi, Sirte,
Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli, Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras
Landoff and Es-Sider.

Oil mining in Libya in the mining areas of mining areas of Benghazi, Sirte, Misratah, Al-Khums, Tripoli,
Azzawiyah and Tobruk, Amal, Gialo and oil refineries are around Ras Landoff and Es-Sider amongst
others lead to neglect of other sectors of the economy such as agriculture. This is because more able-
bodied youth move for better paying job in the mines. This has led to reduction in the supply of food
stuffs which causes famine and starvation.

The Oil Mining Industry in Algeria.

Algeria is Libya’s western neighbor and has been almost as fortunate as Libya with oil discoveries. Along
with gas, Algeria is a large oil producer with 12.2billion barrels of proven oil reserves. As of 2021, the
country exports 540,000 barrels per day of its total production capacity of 1.1million barrels per day. All
proven reserves are held onshore, though offshore exploration is in the early stages. Most of the oil in
Algeria is obtained from the oil fields at Hassi Messaoud. While other oil fields include Ohanets, Edjele,
El-Borma and El-Gassi. This oil is sent by pipeline to the port of Arzew. Natural gas fields include
Laghouat and Ainsalah.

Since 1955, when oil and natural gas were first discovered in Algeria, progress has been very rapid
indeed. Algeria can only use a fraction of its oil she produces and so she sells it, mostly to France then.
Algeria also exports oil to Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Indonesia. Most of her oil is refined in
Algeria before it is exported. There is a gas liquefaction plant at Skikda where gas is cooled into liquid
for export. In 1979, a new liquefaction plant at Hassi R’mel came onboard. It is 550km South of Algiers.
The gas is a source of Power for the Fertilizer, Petrochemicals, Cement, Steel, Mechanical and Motor
Engineering, Plastics, Textiles Industries. Japan provided the required capital.

In 2020, the oil production in Algeria amounted to around 1.3million barrels per day. Algeria joined
OPEC in 1969 and fully nationalized its oil industry in 1971. The Algerian industry has been dominated by
oil and natural gas in two ways; first, the hydrocarbon sector is by far the largest industrial sector.
Second, the revenues generated by the export of oil, gas and related products have been the main
source of investment capital for other industries. Algeria’s economy is dominated by its export trade in
petroleum and natural gas, contributing roughly one third of the country’s gross domestic product.

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There are pipelines supplying refineries at Oran, Arzew, Algiers and Skikda as well as the terminal at
Bejaja from where crude oil is exported.

Oil pipelines in Algeria include; Beni Mansouri - Algiers, Haoud El Hamra- Bejaja, Haoud El Hamra-
Skikda, Haoud El Hamra -Arzew, In Amenas - Haoud El Hamra, Tapsa oil pipeline from
Zarzaitine/Edjeleh - La Skhirra in Tunisia, El Borma - La Skhirra in Tunisia. Gas pipelines include Algiers -
Arzew, Annaba- Skikda, Bejaja- Skikda, Haoud El Hamra- Arzew, Hassi Messaoud - Hassi R’mel, Hassi
R’Mel -Skikda, Hassi R’Mel - Algiers, In Amenas - Hassi Messaoud, part of Algeria-Italy Gas Pipeline via
Sardinia, Maghreb - Europe Gas Pipeline.

Factors That Have Led To the Development of the Oil Industry in Algeria.

Physical Factors

There is availability of large deposits of oil and gas reserves in Algeria. Algeria has got some of the
largest proven oil reserves in North Africa. Oil in Algeria is obtained from the oil fields at Hassi
Messaoudi, Ohanets, Edjele, El-Borma and El-Gassi and the oil is sent by pipeline to the port of Arzew.
Natural gas fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah. There is a gas liquefaction plant at Skikda while a new
liquefaction plant at Hassi R’mel came onboard. Natural gas fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah

It is also economical to produce Algerian oil due to its low level of sulphur content which has
encouraged many oil drilling companies to invest in the oil drilling industry in Algeria. For instance, Most
of the oil in Algeria is obtained from the oil fields at Hassi Messaoud, Ohanets, Edjele, El-Borma and El-
Gassi. This oil is sent by pipeline to the port of Arzew. Natural gas fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah.

Algeria is strategically located close to Mediterranean Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. This
enables easy access to overseas rich markets. This provided the opportunity for the accessibility of
foreign market for the Algerian oil and natural gas. For instance, Hassi Messaoud, Ohanets, Edjele, El-
Borma and El-Gassi. Natural gas fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah.

Algeria became a member of the Organization of Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1968
and this gave them the opportunity for easy accessibility to lucrative foreign oil markets which
encourages further investment in the mining sector. This oil is mined at Hassi Messaoud, Ohanets,
Edjele, El-Borma and El-Gassi. Natural gas fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah.

The Algerian oil and natural gas deposits or reserves appear in large quantities and are reported to be of
high grade quality. Along with gas, Algeria is a large oil producer with 12.2billion barrels of proven oil
reserves. As of 2021, the country exports 540,000 barrels per day of its total production capacity of
1.1million barrels per day. All proven reserves are held onshore, though offshore exploration is in the
early stages. Most of the oil in Algeria is obtained from the oil fields at Hassi Messaoud. While other oil
fields include Ohanets, Edjele, El-Borma and El-Gassi. This oil is sent by pipeline to the port of Arzew.
Natural gas fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah. This is one of the reason why Algeria is one of Africa’s
leading producers and exporters of oil and natural gas. It is only rivalled by Nigeria, Egypt and Libya.

Oil mining and gas fields are within the coastal fringes. It was easy to access the food basket of
Mediterranean Europe through the sea. Therefore, there was easy provision of the necessary foodstuffs
to the oil field workers. This has boosted oil production. This oil is mined at Hassi Messaoud, Ohanets,
Edjele, El-Borma and El-Gassi. Natural gas fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah.

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Algerian oil has a low sulphur content and therefore, it is highly demanded in the international markets.
For instance, a sizeable percentage of Europe’s petroleum and natural gas needs come from Algeria. The
Algerian oil is also easy to mine in the majority of her oil fields. This factor has made Algeria to be ranked
among the first 17 in the world and 3rd in African countries (2020) that produce the largest quantities of
oil products. This oil is mined Hassi Messaoud, Ohanets, Edjele, El-Borma and El-Gassi. Natural gas
fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah.

Oil mining areas of Algeria have a relatively flat to gently sloping relief which has favored mechanization
in oil exploitation and construction of transport terminals and pipelines. The plain coastal relief is
favorable to mining oil. This is done at the oil fields of Hassi Messaoud, Ohanets, Edjele, El-Borma and
El-Gassi. Natural gas fields include Laghouat and Ainsalah.

Human Factors.

There is availability of adequate capital from Japan and France. This capital was invested in the mining
of oil in Algeria. More capital investment had been sunk by the Algerian government into the oil sector.
The pioneer oil mining companies in Algeria were from France before nationalization of oil fields by
1971 under Sonatrach Oil Corporation. At the same time, other oil fields were financed by Japan. These
brought in a lot of capita. This has enabled installation of oil derricks to drill the oil and building oil
refineries.

There is availability of both semi-skilled and skilled labor force to work in the oil mining sector. Algeria is
one of the African countries with a high level of functional literacy and has a large force of trained
people in form of oil engineers, technicians, geologists and oil mining and accounting managers. Another
section of the skilled labor force are shipped into the country as expatriate workers from Western
Europe, North America and Asia. Some workers are trained on the job by the foreign expatriates to
acquire the skills of oil drilling and processing. This increases the quality and quantity of oil production.

There is availability of high level or improved technology employed in the mining activities in Algeria. Oil
mining and refining has been progressing with advancing technology such as the drilling pipe technology
attributed to the mining companies. Previously natural gas was simply lost but today, it is extracted as
oil as it is being refined. One method of increasing production has been the construction of offshore oil
platforms and installation of offshore oil rigs in the Algeria.

There is availability of a large oil market both domestically and abroad. In terms of population since the
Algeria population was around 44million people by 2021. This provides a large domestic market for oil
and oil products. Algeria mainly exports oil to the Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Indonesia. Most
of her oil is refined in Algeria. The oil is used in a number of ways such as making chemical products and
in the transport sector.

There is availability of both large or numerous and efficient transport systems since Algeria is not a land
locked country and she is lucky to have oil reserves the Sahara desert and near the coast which
minimizes the transport costs to export markets. There is also an extensive system of pipelines laid
down to transport oil from the fields to oil collecting terminals such as the pipelines that handles most
of the Algeria oil and gas. Oil fields found deep in the Sahara were tapped with the aid of pipelines
connected to the coastal cities that are engaged in oil refining. These oil cities are Oran, Arzew, Algiers
and Skikda. Oil pipelines in Algeria include; Beni Mansouri - Algiers, Haoud El Hamra- Bejaja, Haoud El

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Hamra- Skikda, Haoud El Hamra -Arzew, In Amenas - Haoud El Hamra, Tapsa oil pipeline from
Zarzaitine/Edjeleh - La Skhirra in Tunisia, El Borma - La Skhirra in Tunisia. Gas pipelines include Algiers -
Arzew, Annaba- Skikda, Bejaja- Skikda, Haoud El Hamra- Arzew, Hassi Messaoud - Hassi R’mel, Hassi
R’Mel -Skikda, Hassi R’Mel - Algiers, In Amenas - Hassi Messaoud, part of Algeria-Italy Gas Pipeline via
Sardinia, Maghreb - Europe Gas Pipeline.

There is availability of large quantities of power and energy in form of combined cycle gas turbines at
Bab Ezzouar, Berrouaghia, F’rkirina, Hajret En-Nouss, Hamma, Hassi Messaou Norte, Kahrama
amongst others. Hydroelectric stations include Ighil Emda while Hassi R’Mel integrated solar combined
cycle produces power by steam generated which integrates into the steam cycle gas turbine plant. This
power is used in oil drilling and oil refining (which requires large quantities of power). This promotes
efficiency and hence large scale oil mining.

There has been setting up of various oil processing industries, for example, refineries. Algeria has
around five refineries with a total capacity of 667,000barrels per day. This has made it possible to make
it possible to process total output. In turn, this has increased the expor earnings from oil mining mined
at Hassi Messaoud, Ohanets, Edjele, El-Borma and El-Gassi. Natural gas fields include Laghouat and
Ainsalah.

There has been positive government policy towards the mining sector such as nationalizing of the oil
and gas operations in 1971 and making sure that all the oil is refined in Algeria. Since it has allowed
many local companies to invest in the mining sector under the government corporation. In the
inception, the Libyan government passed a petroleum law designed to promote rapid development of
oil resources then. Profits were divided accordingly between the oil companies and the government.

The availability of relative political stability in most regions of Algeria save for the remnants of terrorists
who disrupt mining operations. The oil industry suffered a severe setback during terrorist disruptions.
The bloody conditions devastate the oil production before.

Oil mining in Egypt.

Egypt’s oil and natural gas are in the Gulf of Suez and the Nile Delta. Egypt is Libya’s eastern neighbor
and she also has oil deposits. The earliest discoveries of oil were made in the Nile Delta Region and
later, wells were drilled in the Western Desert. However, most of the oil comes from the fields in the
Gulf of Suez. Leading producers are fields in and bordering the Gulf, with Ramadan being the most
important. Other oil fields in Egypt include; Alamein Yidman in the Western Desert, Abu Rudais in the
Eastern Desert, Belayim, El-Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez. Egypt is also an important producer of
natural gas. Fields occur in the Western Desert, Zohr (2017), offshore, near Alexandria and in the Nile
Delta (Nooros gas field). Atoll is another gas field in the east delta

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation supervises oil operations under the guardianship of the
Ministry Of Petroleum And Mineral Resources. There are five state owned oil companies. Egypt’s
production of crude oil was at level of 557,000 barrels per day in July 2021. Egypt holds reserves of
4.4billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of 2016. The major oil companies of Egypt include BP
Chevron, Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total Energies and Conoco Phillips. The state companies
include; the Egyptian General Petroleum (EGPC)-concludes concessions on behalf of government, the
Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company

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(ECHEM), the Ganoub El- Wadi Holding Company (GANOPE) and the Egyptian Geological Survey and
Mining Authority (EMRA)

The gas is carried by pipeline to major industrial consumers such as Talkha Fertilizer Plant, Helwan Iron
and Steel Industries, and a textile factory at Mehalla El Kubra. The SUMED pipeline (Suez
Mediterranean Pipeline) links the ports of Suez on the Gulf of Suez, across the Nile Delta to Alexandria
on the Mediterranean Sea. This helped to transport oil to the Mediterranean tankers in 1967 when the
Suez had been closed temporarily.

Factors That Have Led To the Development of the Oil Industry in Egypt.

Physical Factors

There is availability of large deposits of oil and gas reserves in Egypt. Egypt has got the largest proven oil
reserves in Africa. Egyptian oil mining originally centered on Egypt’s oil and natural gas found in the Gulf
of Suez and the Nile Delta. Most of the oil comes from the fields in the Gulf of Suez. Leading producers
are fields in and bordering the Gulf, with Ramadan being the most important. Other oil fields in Egypt
include; Alamein Yidman in the Western Desert, Abu Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, El-Morgan
in the Suez or Gulf of Suez. Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas. Fields occur in the
Western Desert, offshore, near Alexandria and in the Nile Delta.

It is also economical to produce Egyptian oil due to low sulphur content which has encouraged many oil
drilling companies to invest in the oil drilling industry in Egypt. For instance, most oil is found in the Gulf
of Suez, Nile Delta, and Western Sahara Desert, Ramadan (the most important, Alamein, Yidman, Abu
Rudais, Eastern Desert, Belayim and El-Morgan. Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas.
Fields occur in the Western Desert, offshore, near Alexandria and in the Nile Delta.

Egypt is strategically located close to Western Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. This enables easy
access to overseas rich markets. This provided the opportunity for the accessibility of foreign market for
the Egyptian oil and natural gas. For instance, Ramadan, Alamein Yidman in the Western Desert, Abu
Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, El-Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez. Egypt is also an important
producer of natural gas. Fields occur in the Western Desert, offshore, near Alexandria and in the Nile
Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll gas fields.

The Egyptian oil and natural gas deposits or reserves appear in large quantities and are reported to be of
high grade quality. Egypt holds reserves of 4.4billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of 2016. Egypt’s
production of crude oil was at level of 557,000 barrels per day in July 2021. This is one of the reason
why Egypt is one of Africa’s leading producers and exporters of oil and natural gas. It is only rivalled by
Nigeria, Algeria and Angola. Oil has become Egypt second leading export after tourism and has stayed
that way ever since. Oil has over the year, replaced agricultural products.

Oil mining and gas fields are within the coastal fringes. It was easy to access the food basket of
Mediterranean Europe through the sea. Therefore, there was easy provision of the necessary foodstuffs
to the oil field workers. This has boosted oil production. For instance, Ramadan, Alamein Yidman in the
Western Desert, Abu Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, El-Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez.
Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas. Fields occur in the Western Desert, offshore, near
Alexandria and in the Nile Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll gas fields.

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Egyptian oil has a low sulphur content and therefore, it is highly demanded in the international markets.
For instance, a sizeable percentage of Europe’s petroleum needs come from Egypt. The Egyptian oil is
also easy to mine in the majority of her oil fields. This factor has made Egypt to be ranked among the
first 24 countries (by 2020) that produce the largest quantities of oil products in the whole world. For
instance, Ramadan, Alamein Yidman in the Western Desert, Abu Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim,
El-Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez. Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas. Fields occur
in the Western Desert, offshore, near Alexandria and in the Nile Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll
gas fields.

Oil mining areas of Egypt have a relatively flat to gently sloping relief which has favored mechanization
in oil exploitation and construction of transport terminals and routes. The plain coastal relief is favorable
to mining oil. This is done at the oil fields of Ramadan, Alamein Yidman in the Western Desert, and Abu
Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, and El-Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez. Egypt is also an
important producer of natural gas. Fields occur in the Western Desert, offshore, near Alexandria and in
the Nile Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll gas fields.

The oil mining and gas field region in Egypt has large quantities of water that has to be pumped into the
oil wells for oil to jet-out. Large amounts of fresh water from river Nile is used in oil fields. For instance,
Ramadan, Alamein Yidman in the Western Desert, Abu Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, El-
Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez. Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas. Fields occur in
the Western Desert, offshore, near Alexandria and in the Nile Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll
gas fields.

Human Factors.

There is availability of adequate capital which was invested in the mining of oil in Egypt. More capital
investment had been sunk by the Egyptian government into the oil sector under Hosni Mubarak. The
pioneer oil mining companies in Egypt were from France, USA and U.K. This is done at Ramadan,
Alamein Yidman in the Western Desert, and Abu Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, and El-Morgan
in the Suez or Gulf of Suez. Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas. Fields occur in the
Western Desert, offshore, near Alexandria and in the Nile Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll gas
fields.

There is availability of both semi-skilled and skilled labor force to work in the oil mining sector. Egypt is
one of the African countries with a high level of functional literacy and has a large force of trained
people in form of oil engineers, technicians, geologists and oil mining and accounting managers. Another
section of the skilled labor force are shipped into the country as expatriate workers from Western
Europe, North America and Asia. Some workers are trained on the job by the foreign expatriates to
acquire the skills of oil drilling and processing. This increases the quality and quantity of oil production.

There is availability of high level or improved technology employed in the mining activities in the
Egyptian oil and gas fields. Oil mining and refining has been progressing with advancing technology such
as the drilling pipe technology attributed to the mining companies. Previously natural gas was simply
lost but today, it is extracted as oil is being refined. For instance, Ramadan, Alamein Yidman in the
Western Desert, Abu Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, El-Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez.
Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas. Fields occur in the Western Desert, offshore, near
Alexandria and in the Nile Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll gas fields.

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There is availability of a large oil market both domestically and abroad. In terms of population since the
Egyptian population was around 100million people by 2021. This provides a large domestic market for
oil and oil products. Egypt mainly exports oil to the European Union, U.K, China, and USA. The oil is
used in a number of ways such as making chemical products and in the transport sector. Given the high
grade of oil that has less sulphur content, the country supplies about half of its oil to the USA and the
rest of the other half to the European Union, the UK and China. This has encouraged investment in the
Egyptian oil industry.

There is availability of both large or numerous and efficient transport systems since Egypt is not a land
locked country and she is lucky to have oil reserves the Sahara desert and near the coast which
minimizes the transport costs to export markets. There is also an extensive system of pipelines laid
down to transport oil from the fields to oil collecting terminals such as the pipelines that handles most
of the Egypt oil and gas. Oil fields found deep were tapped with the aid of pipelines connected to the
coastal cities that are engaged in oil refining in oil cities such as Ramadan, Alamein Yidman in the
Western Desert, Abu Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, and El-Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez.
Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas. Fields occur in the Western Desert, offshore, near
Alexandria and in the Nile Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll gas fields.

There is availability of large quantities of power and energy in form of combined cycle gas turbines
estimated at around 24,700MW installed generation capacity in 2010. These power plants include
Aswani High Dam. The sources include hydroelectric power plants, coal-fired power plants, diesel fired
power plants, geothermal power plants, and gas fired power plants solar power plants and wind power
plants.

There has been setting up of various oil processing industries at Ramadan, Alamein Yidman in the
Western Desert, Abu Rudais in the Eastern Desert, Belayim, El-Morgan in the Suez or Gulf of Suez.
Egypt is also an important producer of natural gas. Fields occur in the Western Desert, offshore, near
Alexandria and in the Nile Delta, Zohr, Nooros gas field and Atoll gas fields. This has made it possible to
process total output. Other oil refineries have been established in various places. In turn, this has
increased the exporting earnings from oil mining.

There has been positive government policy towards the mining sector. For example, it has allowed many
companies to invest in the mining sector. The government has encouraged many companies to invest in
the mining sector. The Egyptian government has, overtime, been encouraging foreign companies by
granting them tax holidays and protecting them against competition. This in turn expands the mining
sector. In the inception, the Egyptian government passed a petroleum law designed to promote rapid
development of oil resources then. Profits were divided accordingly between the oil companies and the
government.

The availability of relative political stability in most regions of Egypt save for the remnants of the
Mubarak regime who waged political unrest after the Arab Spring in 2011. The oil industry suffered a
severe setback during the Arab Spring which started in 2011, when the region proclaimed. The bloody
conflict devastated the oil production.

Coal Mining.

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Existing coal reserves are likely to last for 300 more years. In 2007, coal global use stood at 28.6%.
China by 2008 was the leading global coal producer and consumer accounting for 40.1% followed by
USA (18.8%), Australia (6.9%) amongst others.

Coal has been up to the present, one of the major fuels as a source of power and energy. Its only rival is
petroleum and natural gas. Coal was used for centuries to provide heat for domestic use but in the late
eighteenth century it was heated to produce steam power and thus, became the basis of the industrial
revolution. Coal was the most efficient to provide fuel for steam raising for driving, factory machinery,
and for use in railway locomotives and steamships.

With the advent of oil, first commercially exploited in the mid nineteenth century, the importance of
coal was challenged. Although coal exploitation has continued to expand in quantity with the more
discoveries, the relative importance of coal as a source of power has declined and with the pressure
from the environmentalists in the Kyoto Protocol (1998), The Pairs Agreement (2015), The UN Climate
Summit (New York September 2019), The Glasgow Summit (2021) amongst others.

Coal fields are being gradually shut down and its use being gradually reduced due to the urge for
renewable energy and initially, the presence of oil as coal substitute. Ships, locomotives, Lorries,
factories now use oil and renewable energy sources. Much of the coal used today is devoted to
electricity generation. It should be noted that despite the reduced role of coal in power generation, it
still has historical importance in the location of major industries in the world. Developing countries are
using less of the global proportion of coal, apart from China which produces and consumes 40%.

The composition of coal.

Coal is either a black or brown rock consisting of mainly carbon which is formed by the compressed
vegetative remains of past ages. Most coal deposits are of carboniferous age (about 300million years
ago). More recent deposits of tertiary age are usually composed of lignite or brown coal and peat which
represents an early stage of coal formation is still being formed today. Constituents of different ranks
of coal are peat, lignite, bituminous coal, semi-bituminous coal, anthracite coal and graphite may be
included in comparison.

Origin of Coal.

Coal originated in swampy deltaic areas with a hot-wet climate which encouraged the growth of
luxuriant trees and ferns. When the plants died, their trunks and branches began to accumulate on the
swampy ground and were compressed into peaty layers. Subsequent deposition of mud or sand sealed
in the decomposing vegetation and prevented its total decomposition and disappearance. New forest
grew, died and were covered in the same way so that today, we find a series of coal seams inter-layered
with other sedimentary rocks. The mass vegetative material was probably changed into coal by heat and
pressure generated not only by increasing weight of overlying sediments but also by earth movements
and contortions. As much as 150metres of decayed vegetation may have been required to be
compressed into seams of one tenths that thickness. Many coal seams are less than a meter thickness.

Classification of coal.

a) Peat coal.

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Peat is a fibrous brownish substance formed by partly, decayed organic remains in swamps and bog. It
represents the first stage of coal formation and varies considerably in extent and thickness. Peat is being
formed at the present day in many places. It has a high percentage of moisture and volatile vegetation
matter and carbon only constitutes about one-third of its bulk. In deep peat deposits, the carbon
content is higher in the more compressed layers. Its low heating capacity reduces its value. It is used as a
domestic fuel in some parts of the world. In Ireland, it is dug up as turfs. Main deposits of pet occur in
Fenno-Scandinavia, parts of USA and Canada. It is less developed in the Southern Hemisphere. It can
however, be briquetted.

b) Lignite or brown coal

Lignite is usually regarded as the second stage of coal formation after peat. It is soft and still retains
much of its brownish, woody appearance but is more compact than peat. Its moisture content is high
(over 35%) so that it gives-out much smoke but little heat. It slacks or breaks easily when exposed to
the air, rendering transshipment difficult. Lignite has to therefore, be used at the area of mining. Lignite
is worked mainly by open cast methods because it oftentimes, occurs near the surface and seams may
be as thick as 15metres each. It is extensively used where other fuels are not evident or to supplement
supplies of bituminous coal. Most of it occurs on the European Plain (especially in the Ruhr at cologne
and Bavaria), in Siberia, outside Moscow (Tula lignite field), in Hungary and in Slovakia). Lignite coal is
used in smelting iron in in a blast furnace, extracting petroleum substitutes and in thermal electricity as
well as chemicals industry.

c) Bituminous Coal.

This is the hard black compact bituminous coal that makes up almost 80% of the world’s total coal
output. Major producers of bituminous coal include China, USA, Russian federation, the UK, Germany
and Poland. It varies greatly in carbon content, from 40% to 80% and in moisture and volatility content
from 15 to 40% so that it is often subdivided into several minor categories called bituminous coal
varieties and bituminous types. These categories are the following:

i. Steam coal; with a fixed carbon content of more than 80% is the best of the bituminous
category. It has a very high heat value and burns readily with little smoke. It was thus, highly
suited to use in steamships and locomotives. To sailors, it is known as bunker coal.
ii. Household coal; this is a type of coal which is black and lustrous (smooth and bright), with a
fixed carbon content varying from 50-80%. It has the widest domestic use because it has a fairly
high heat output, light easily, makes little smoke and is quite economical. It is used in the
Northern Temperate lands for warming purposes in winter.
iii. Cannel coal; this is one which probably formed under water from drifting vegetation matter. It
has similar functions to household coal but is less popular because it burns with much smoke
due to the presence of a greater percentage of volatile matter.
iv. Coking coal; coking coal is high grade bituminous coal which has a special value because when
it is heated in coke ovens, it fuses into coke-an important ingredient in iron and steel smelting
in blast furnaces. Countries with large deposits of coking coal such as Britain, Germany,
Belgium, Australia and the USA were able to develop successful metallurgical industries.

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However, with the improvement in steel making technology, coking coal is no longer absolutely
essential though desirable.
v. Gas Coal; gas coal is one which has a high content of gaseous and volatile matter. It is best
suited to the production of coal gas and other chemical products. The large volume of smoke
produced is not entirely without use, sulphuric acid can be reclaimed from the smoke.

d) Anthracite coal.

This is the hardest and ranks highest among coals. It is shiny and lustrous almost je-black and is so
completely compressed that it shows no bonded structure. It has a carbon content of almost 95% with
practically no volatile matter. It does not ignite easily but once lighted, it gives out a great heat,
burning with a bright blue flame. It burns for a long time and leaves very little ash behind. It is thus
ideal for central heating, steam raising in ships and boilers for heating in bakeries and malting houses
and as a domestic fuel. Less than 5% of the world’s coal is anthracite and most of this comes from
Pennsylvania-USA. Its demand is however, declining.

e) Graphite.

Graphite is the last stage of carbonization of vegetative remains. Its carbon content is 99%. It is
sometimes called plumbage or black lead. It must have been subjected to very great heat and pressure
to be metamorphosed from coal to graphite. It is never used as a fuel but rather as pencil making raw
material, the manufacture of crucibles and the type metals. Major supplies come from Mexico,
Srilanka, Japan, Korea, Canada, USA and some of the European countries

Coal Mining Methods in the World.

Coal mining is so influenced by such factors as the nature of coal occurrence, thickness of the coal
seams (undisturbed horizontal seams are the easiest to work), and the type of coal which will too
influence the selling value, mining costs and the mode of operation. Basically, coal is mined either on
the surface or underground.

Surface Coal Mining.

Surface Coal Mining.

(a) Open cast mining (stripping); this is the most common economic way of extracting coal, but can
only be practiced when the coal seams lie at or near the surface. The overlying strata should be
relatively soft and thin, more or less horizontal and should not exceed 60metres (200ft). Mining
involves the removal of the overlying strata or overburden by huge mechanical shovels.
Smaller shovels are then used to dig-out the coal and load it into the trucks for distribution. This
method is widely used in the Appalachian coal fields, USA, in Australia, in Shanxi-Shanxi and
Sichuan, china and elsewhere.
(b) Hill slope boring; on hill slope where coal outcrops, giant sized augers (boring instruments) may
be employed to remove the coal. These augers may be 1 to 1.5metres (3 to 5ft) below the
ground. The augers drill-out huge pieces of coal and bring them to the surface for transport by
waiting trucks.

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Underground Coal Mining.

(a) Drift or Adit Mining.

This is the simplest of the underground mining operations. A slightly inclined or horizontal coal seam
that is overlain by very thick overburden but is exposed on a hillside can be mined by simply cutting a
tunnel called a drift or adit into the coal bearing stratum and extracting the coal. To speed up the work,
a light railway often electrically operated, is usually used to haul-out the coal which is then reloaded
onto the waiting lorries or railway wagons to be taken to its markets.

(b) Slope mining.

When the coal seam is too steeply tilted for drift mining or is below a thick overburden, slope mining is
sometimes used. This involves the construction of an inclined tunnel known as a slope through which a
conveyor belt or cable car is used to bring-out the coal.

(c) Shaft coal mining.

This is the only practical method of reaching the coal which occurs in deep seams lying 305metres
(1000 to 5000ft) below the ground. Vertical shafts are sunk through the thick overburden to reach the
coal seam and a network of galleries is dug underground to give access to the coal. Box-like cages or
lifts, worked by powerful hoists give access to the mine through shaft. The cages carry miners and their
equipment and are regularly checked for their reliability. At the coal face, miners now use powerful
mechanical digging and grinding tools to break-up the coal but in the past, miners could use shovels.

Often, explosives are set in the coal face, loosening the coal into great humps so that it can be easily
removed or loaded into trucks or tubs. The trucks are drawn up the shafts by strong cables to the
surface where the coal is taken to the screen house to be sorted into various sizes by mechanical
strippers and finally, it is ready for the road to rail to coal depots, coaling ports or power plants.

The Ruhr Mining Region of Germany.

The Ruhr is perhaps among the oldest industrial establishments in Europe and Germany in particular. Its
growth in the 19th century hinged on the abundance of coal deposits, existence of high grade iron ore
and excellent position in relation to transport networks along the Ruhr River. Germany is a major world
producer of coal with most of its production coming from the Ruhr coal fields. The coal seams of these
coal fields dip from south to the north. Most of the important mining in the 1980s was in the Lippe
Valley area where coal fields were at considerable depths. Several types of coal are mined but the most
important here is a high quality bituminous coal used for making coke which is used in the integrated
iron and steel industries at Essen, Dortmund and Duisburg.

Ruhr Westphalia Coal Fields accounted for 90% of German coal reserves. The Ruhr Coal Fields are
important for coking and steam raising purposes and occurs in thick seams (1.5 to 9 meters or 5 to 30ft)
at the depth (between 450 and 910metres or 1500 and 3000ft), slightly broken and tilted in some
places. The Ruhr coal fields is the heart of German heavy industry. The area is served by the Rhine and
its tributaries. Major industrial towns include Essen, Duisburg, Dortmund, Wuppertal, cologne
Düsseldorf, Remscheid, Bochum, Witten, Oberhausen, Hamm, Gelsenkirchen, Herne and Solingen.

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German Ruhr region has different types of high quality coal lying exposed on the surface of the earth
while part of it lies concealed in layers very close to the surface. The Ruhr region has gas coal and,
coking coal, anthracite coal, semi-anthracite coal and bituminous coal. The exposed coal is almost
exhausted. These were in areas around Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten, while concealed fields are all
over towns such as Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and across river
Lippe and River Emscher. Among the transport nodes in the Ruhr coal fields include the Dortmund-ems
canal, the Lippesite Canal that connects the Ruhr to Rotterdam.

Other coal deposits outside of the Ruhr.

In Germany as a country, there are also other coal deposits in Aachen coal fields (although this is no
longer very important any more). The only other important coal fields in western Germany is the Saar
Coal Fields. The Saar Coal Fields near the German-French Border has good coking coal and easy to
mine. There are also lignite coal deposits at Cologne and Bavaria which were being mined to provide
fuel for thermal electricity generation.

Other Important Minerals in Germany.

There are also other important minerals in Germany and these include potash, salt, iron ore,
phosphorus, copper, lead and zinc. The lucrative chemical industry in Germany is a result of the
presence of certain minerals in large quantities such as potash and salt which both have equally boosted
the fertilizer industry and pharmaceuticals industry as well. Potash in Germany is mined at Strassfurt
Salt Dome.

Note: Originally supplies of iron ore came from Siegeland but iron ore output here too declined. More
iron ore is imported from France where it is found in plenty in Alsace and Lorraine.

Factors That Have Led To the Growth and Development of the Mining Industry in German-Ruhr-
Westphalia Conurbation.

Physical factors.

There is availability of large deposits of coal in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany. The Ruhr and
Germany in particular has the second largest coal reserves in Western Europe after the United Kingdom.
Coal mining was therefore, cost effective. The Ruhr region has gas coal and, coking coal, anthracite coal,
semi-anthracite coal and bituminous coal. The exposed coal is almost exhausted. These were in areas
around Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten, while concealed fields are all over towns such as Herne,
Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and across river Lippe and River Emscher.
The Saar Coal Fields near the German-French Border has good coking coal and easy to mine. There are
also lignite coal deposits at Cologne and Bavaria which were being mined to provide fuel for thermal
electricity generation.

There is availability of high quality coal lying exposed on the surface of the earth while part of it lies
concealed in layers very close to the surface. The Ruhr region has gas coal which has a high content of
gaseous and volatile matter and produces gas and chemicals, and it is used for both domestic and
industrial purposes. There is also coking coal found in the Saar Coal Fields with a high percentage of
bituminous coal which fuses easily when heated in coke ovens. It helps in the iron and steel industry
for iron smelting. The easily mined lignite coal or brown coal in Bavaria and Cologne using open cast

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method can supplement bituminous coal in smelting iron in blast furnaces, generation of electricity,
extracting petroleum substitutes and in the chemicals industry. Anthracite coal contains a high
percentage of carbon and burning with great heat which makes it an important source of energy. The
exposed coal is almost exhausted. These were in areas around Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten, while
concealed fields are all over towns such as Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg,
Gelsenkirchen and across river Lippe and River Emscher.

The nearness of coal deposits to the surface made it possible for coal mines to be established at
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten, Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen,
across River Lippe, River Emscher. Other coal fields are in the west in Saar, Cologne and Bavaria. At the
beginning, the coal mines were concentrated in the Exposed Southern Ruhr Coal Fields and these were
mined by open cast method at Mulheim, Essen, Bochum and Witten. Most of these deposits were in
close proximity to one another. This allowed convenient use of coal as fuel, first to process the iron ore
into steel and manufacture products from steel.

There were other forms of energy in the Ruhr and Germany at large. Petroleum, natural gas were
imported from overseas territories, especially Norway and the Russian Federation while
hydroelectricity was generated from waterfalls on the seasonal rivers such as River Lippe, Emscher,
Ruhr, Rhine, Wupper amongst others. These various sources of power supported mineral exploitation
and mineral processing, in the recent years, renewable energy sources of power have been preferred
because their environmentally friendly benefits. Nuclear energy (though used extensively up to 2020),
it is being phased out (although the hard-black-bituminous coal that burns with less carbon dioxide
compared to the brown lignite is still being extensively used).

There is presence of large quantities of water from the Ruhr and other tributaries of the Rhine River
such as River Wupper, River Emscher, and River Lippe amongst others. This water is used in cooling the
machines and processing coal into other coal products in the Ruhr mining cities and industrial cities such
as Remscheid, Solingen Düsseldorf, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten, Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen.

There is presence of a large number of other minerals in the Ruhr, for example, lead, zinc, potash, salt,
and copper. These minerals have attracted a large number of mining companies and they have had to
share mining technologies, economies of scale, and they have led to mining inertia where mining
companies share mining tools and other resources in Düsseldorf, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten,
Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen.

Human or socio-economic factors.

There is up to the present, well developed and cheap efficient transport and communication system in
the Ruhr-Westphalia region and Germany at large. These are provided by the Rhine Water Way and its
many tributaries such as Ruhr, Lippe and Emscher. The Rhine Water Way is linked with a system of
canals such as the Dortmund-Ems Canal and the Lippeseite Canal. These canals improve the
transportation capacity of the Rhine Water Way of transporting coal to industries and foreign markets in
the rest of Europe especially France. The Ruhr region has both roads and railway systems that transport
coal around the Ruhr which has led to the growth and development of the mining industry in the Ruhr
and Germany at large.

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There is availability of large sums of capital resources since Germany is an advanced rich nation and a
key members of the European Union. This enabled the mining companies to invest in coal mining. The
exposed coal is almost exhausted. These were in areas around Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten, while
concealed fields are all over towns such as Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg,
Gelsenkirchen and across river Lippe and River Emscher. This capital was used in large scale
prospecting, exploration, research, coal extraction, setting up coal processing chemicals industries and
coal related factories that consume the coal for power generation.

There has been a steady development of modern and advanced technology in the mining sector such as
open cast use of explosives and excavators, for deposits near the surface in the exposed coal fields at
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten. Large machines are used such as shovel wheels, excavators and
draglines. These machines can do a lot of work. There is intensive research in mining technology such as
shovels wheels, use of cranes and excavators to support exploitation. This increases the quality and
quantity of mineral production.

There is availability of skilled labor that is readily employed in mining because a body of skilled labor has
been developed right from the time of the industrial revolution in the mining sector such as geologists
specializing in mineral exploration, research, mining engineers, machine operators, managers and
drivers. This has increased efficiency in the mining industry. It should be noted that Germany has the
largest population in Western Europe and the Ruhr has dense population of around 9million people who
are a source of both the required skilled labor and manual labor. This dense population is concentrated
in the towns of Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten, Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg,
Gelsenkirchen, across River Lippe, River Emscher.

There is availability of a large market base since Germany is a high income country and it has the largest
industrial establishments in Europe in the cities of Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Mulheim, Essen,
Bochum, Witten, Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen. These
industries produce a lot of products whose market is from the named industrial towns and the rest of
the European Union. Coal is used in the coking of iron as a catalyst in blast furnaces and as a source of
power. Of all the coal produced in the Ruhr, 40% is used in the Ruhr, 30% to other Germany areas, and
03% exported to Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

After the Second World War and lately, by 1989, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and razing of the
Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war, Germany has been politically stable and it has been a
democratic nation since the end of the cold war. This has made Germany to remain a peaceful country
providing the necessary conditions for the rehabilitation of mines that were destroyed during the war in
the Ruhr, Saar and Cologne areas. Political stability has increased the confidence of investors and hence
enabled the establishment and maintenance of mineral processing plants at Düsseldorf, Mulheim,
Essen, Bochum, Witten, Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen.

There has been positive or supportive government policy towards the mining such as originally investing
in the mining sector with powerful industries at, Düsseldorf, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, Witten, Herne,
Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen. The German government has always
provided enabling policies and subsidies such that mining continues in the rather uneconomical
concealed mines at Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, and Essen amongst others. This has attracted foreign
investors from France, Britain, USA, and others.

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There has been a high level of intensive research in the mining sector which leads to the discovery of
more mineral deposits, improves the quantity and quality of produce from coal products. There is
intensive research into the mining technology and new uses of minerals. This in turn has led to the
expansion and development of coal mining in the Ruhr cities of Düsseldorf, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum,
Witten, Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen.

The Decline in the Use of Coal. Coal provided the basis for the industrial revolution in Britain, Western
Europe, (Belgium, Germany, Sweden etc.) and the USA. Despite the exploitation of coal for centuries, it
is facing unprecedented pressure and coal mines have lately been often shut down in some developed
economies of Western Europe especially Germany and the UK. IN Britain for example, the number of
deep mines decreased. The production of coal in Britain decreased significantly.

Causes Or Reasons For The Decline In The Importance Of Coal In Europe And The Rest Of The World.

There are many reasons for this decline and these are explained here-under:

The most easily accessible deposits have been apparently, used up and many of the remaining coal
seams are dangerous due to faulting fears and are uneconomical to work.

The costs of production of coal have risen due to expensive machinery and increased wages due to
increasing pressure for working conditions of workers from trade unionists.

The demand for coal has fallen for industrial use due to the decline of such heavy industries as steel due
to the changing pattern towards light electronic industries. Domestic coal use in most countries has
shifted to use of oil and gas as well as renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and
hydroelectricity. Most central heating and power stations now prefer gas.

Most coal mining countries such as Britain, Germany are facing increased stiff competition from
cheaper imports of coal from the USA and Australia. This is compounded by the competition from
alternative methods of generating electricity by gas fired stations, cleaner forms of energy and oil-
thermal generators.

Political decisions have, of late, seen subsidies shifted to other sources of power such as nuclear power
industry, and greater investment in gas rather than coal fired power stations.

Green pressures have also led to a decline in coal mining which creates dust and leaves spoilt tips as in
the use of coal to produce electricity as this too, releases sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide which are
blamed for acid rain and for global warming.

Coal is heavy and too heavy and bulky to be transported to power stations. Given its solid state
compared to the liquefied gas and oil, which can be transported by pipeline, coal becomes expensive if it
is to be imported by a country without any proven coal reserves.

The economic constraints which govern coal production cause long and short term fluctuations in
production and the old importance of coal can never be regained. This is because coal has several
decided disadvantages when compared with other fuels. The burning of coal for example, cause air
pollution due to the release of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon dioxide which are injurious to the ozone

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layer. This contributes to global warming while coal open cast mining temporarily harms the surface
environment. Coal is heavy and bulky to transport.

Coal has a low calorific value compared with some other fuels. When coal is burnt, only about 15% of
the energy released is converted into power. Thus, oil is not only more easily handled but is more
efficient fuel compared to coal.

Coal itself is black and dusty and leaves dirt wherever it touches. Moreover, when it is burnt, it creates
much soot and smoke, discoloring nearby buildings and polluting the air. Smoke in the atmosphere
creates smog and is a health hazard. Clean air policies in western European countries have lessened
pollution by reducing the use of coal. Oil is a major pollutant but is cleaner to use while hydroelectricity
is both clean and non-polluting.

Coal mining leaves inevitable scars on the landscape. Open cast pits can be enormous and even costly
reclamation measures cannot restore land to its former condition. Underground mining causes
subsidence of the surface and waste materials removed in tunneling to reach the coal accumulate on
the surface in tip heaps. Vast areas of land may be covered with spoil heaps as in South Wales in
Australia and may thus, be lost to other valuable agricultural and urban uses.

Uses f coal.

Coal is used as a steam power. Coal is used to produce heat and raise steam in a wide range of industrial
situations. In the past when the vast majority of industrial machinery was driven by steam, coal had a
correspondingly important role. Coal was used also as a fuel for steamships and railway locomotives and
was the basis of the development of powered transportation.

Coal is used as a source of electric power. Coal is used in thermal generators to produce thermal
electricity and though oil is also employed in this method, coal is still an important source of fuel. Coal
can also be used to make coal gas for industrial and domestic lighting and heating.

Coal can also be used as domestic fuel. It is used for central heating and in open fire places as well as
being used indirectly in form of gas and electricity.

Coal is used as a source of metallurgical coke especially in the smelting of iron and steel. Coal can be to
make metallurgical coke for use in blast furnaces.

Coal is used in the chemical manufacturing industries. Coal provides a number of raw materials for the
chemical industry, coal gas, coal tar, sulphate of ammonia and many others. Gas coal can be used for
the manufacture of organic chemicals. Coal tar yields such varied products as creosote, naphthalene
and anthracene, which are in turn, used in the manufacture of plastics, detergents, disinfectants,
solvents, antiseptics, adhesives, dyes, perfumes, synthetics fibre and liquid fuel. Benzole can be used
to further cracking into high octane, motor fuel or for the manufacture of insecticides, fungicides and
pharmaceutical drugs, from the sulphate of ammonia, other products, for example, fertilizers,
explosives and refrigerants can be used.

Problems Faced By the German (Ruhr) Coal Mining Industry.

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There is a problem of exhaustion of some coal fields especially the exposed coal fields of the Ruhr-
Westphalia in the south. These have created redundant coal infrastructures at Mulheim, Essen,
Bochum, and Witten.

There is a problem of increasing cost of mining with the increasing depth of coal mines especially in the
concealed coal mines in the Ruhr north coal deposits. These are found in the towns of Herne, Hamm,
Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen. It is pretty expensive to employ shafts and adits
or galleries in underground mining.

There is a problem of frequent closure of mines which has resulted into unemployment and premature
retirement of skilled labor. Increased technology has also increased output per worker and has allowed
for deep mining with fewer workers.

The Coal industry is facing a problem of stiff competition from other sources of energy especially oil and
now renewable energy which are less pollutant compared to coal. Today, the Ruhr region receives a
large quantity of petroleum moved in by petroleum and ocean going vessels which has seriously
replaced coal as a major source of power.

The Ruhr coal industry is also faced with a problem of stiff competition from other countries whose coal
deposits are continuously being discovered and low cost producing countries such as China, Australia,
Russian federation and the USA.

The Ruhr Coal Industry is faced with a problem of decline in demand for coal in relation to other
minerals due to improved technology which requires less inputs and costs. For example, in the iron and
steel industry the technological progress results into less and less coal demanded

The Ruhr and German coal and mining industry in general is faced with the problem of the shared
location of some minerals such as iron ore with the French. This oftentimes, before 1945, used be a
source of conflicts. Some coal deposits are offshoots from France.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem of
uneconomical deposits of coal especially in the concealed mines at Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen and the exposed coal fields at Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and
Witten.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem urban
related social-ills such as prostitution, crime, amongst others. This is common in cities such as Herne,
Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem
destruction of vegetation around Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen,
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem Profit
repatriation to foreign countries where some coal mining countries originate.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem
displacement of people from Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen,
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

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The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem Price
fluctuation of coal in the world market.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem of the
destruction of the physical landscape in and around Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg,
and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem of
mining accidents in and around Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen,
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem of land
dereliction in and around the coal mining areas of Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg,
and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem of
shortage of manual labor in the coal mining areas of Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg,
and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem of the
changing nature of industries in and around Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and
Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The coal mining industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia and Germany at large is faced with the problem of
remoteness in the mineral areas of Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and
Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The role of coal mining to the growth and development of the Ruhr and Germany.

Positive contributions.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the stimulation of revenue collection. This has led to the effective provision of social and economic
services through the construction of infrastructures in Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen,
Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the stimulation of income generation which has led to improved standards of living of the people of the
Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and
Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
employment opportunities for improved standards of living in Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen,
Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the development of infrastructures for improved service delivery in Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

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The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the development of thermal power to heavy manufacturing industries in Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the best use of the hitherto dis-used land in the mining centers at Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the provision of raw materials for the chemical manufacturers at Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large provided the
basis for the development of the industrial revolution for the creation of more employment
opportunities at Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim,
Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large is a source
of foreign prestige for other international business opportunities.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large is a basis of
international cooperation for peace and stability.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large is a basis of
economic development in Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen,
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the economic diversification for widening and broadening the income and revenue base in and around
Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and
Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the development of modern transport and communication infrastructures for improved movement of
goods and passengers. These transport routes are developed in Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen,
Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large has led to
the provision of fuel for both domestic and industrial use in Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen,
Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal Mining Industry in the Ruhr-Westphalia Region of Germany and Germany at large was a basis
for technological development in Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen,
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The Coal miners have acquired more skills for the growth and development of the mining sector in
general.

Negative contributions.

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The mining industry is associated with the exhaustion of some coal fields especially the exposed coal
fields of the Ruhr-Westphalia in the south. These have created redundant coal infrastructures at
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with increasing cost of mining with the increasing depth of coal mines
especially in the concealed coal mines in the Ruhr north coal deposits. These are found in the towns of
Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen. It is pretty expensive to employ
shafts and adits or galleries in underground mining.

The mining industry is associated with frequent closure of mines which has resulted into unemployment
and premature retirement of skilled labor. Increased technology has also increased output per worker
and has allowed for deep mining with fewer workers.

The mining industry is associated with stiff competition from other sources of energy especially oil and
now renewable energy which are less pollutant compared to coal. Today, the Ruhr region receives a
large quantity of petroleum moved in by petroleum and ocean going vessels which has seriously
replaced coal as a major source of power.

The mining industry is associated with stiff competition from other countries whose coal deposits are
continuously being discovered and low cost producing countries such as China, Australia, Russian
federation and the USA.

The mining industry is associated with decline in demand for coal in relation to other minerals due to
improved technology which requires less inputs and costs. For example, in the iron and steel industry
the technological progress results into less and less coal demanded

The mining industry is associated with shared location of some minerals such as iron ore with the
French. This oftentimes, before 1945, used be a source of conflicts. Some coal deposits are offshoots
from France.

The mining industry is associated with uneconomical deposits of coal especially in the concealed mines
at Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen and the exposed coal fields at
Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with urban related social-ills such as prostitution, crime, amongst
others. This is common in cities such as Herne, Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and
Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with destruction of vegetation around Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with Profit repatriation to foreign countries where some coal mining
countries originate.

The mining industry is associated with displacement of people from Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with Price fluctuation of coal in the world market which leads to loss of
employment due to closure.

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The mining industry is associated with destruction of the physical landscape in and around Herne,
Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with mining accidents in and around Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with land dereliction in and around the coal mining areas of Herne,
Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with shortage of manual labor in the coal mining areas of Herne,
Hamm, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with changing nature of industries in and around Herne, Hamm,
Dortmund, Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

The mining industry is associated with remoteness in the mineral areas of Herne, Hamm, Dortmund,
Oberhausen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim, Essen, Bochum, and Witten.

Mining In the United States of America.

The United States is endowed with a variety of minerals. The most important minerals are iron ore,
coal, natural gas, petroleum, gold, copper, amongst others. The United States has been and will
continue (in the foreseeable future) being one of the leading coal producers in the world. Coal mining
begun early in the USA but the country has only lately, become one of leading producers in the 20th and
the 21st centuries. In the 1793, coal output was coming from only Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In
1918, the output had risen. This enormous output in coal was due to the great demand created by the
locomotives –railway industry and coastal shipping as well as rapid industrial development in the USA
and Western Europe. By 1967, the annual production had dropped due to keen competition from
petroleum, natural gas and hydroelectricity. However, by 1970s, output had increased again. The
anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania and the high grade bituminous fields of the Appalachians are still
the most valuable. In the interior provinces, there were fields centered at Illinois that contain mainly
bituminous coal while the Western fields contain lignite or others.

A Case Study of the Great Lakes Region of the USA.

In the northern interior fields of coal, there are very small coal fields in Michigan, fringing Saginaw Bay,
Lake Huron. There is plenty of coal at Pittsburgh, the coal seams here are at the edge of rivers in the
Appalachians Plateau and were easy and cheap to mine. There is plenty of iron ore at Bethlehem in the
Appalachians and later near Lake Superior. The most important iron ore deposits in the Great Lakes are
around Lake Superior especially at Mesabi Mountain Ranges. Other iron ore deposits in the Great Lakes
are at the Vermillion Range, Cuyana, Gogebic, Menominee and Marquette Range.

More coal was found in the Eastern Interior Fields. This includes coal fields of Illinois, Indiana and
Kentucky. There was huge demand from Chicago, Gary, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. This bituminous coal
obtained here was of low grade.

The most predominant type of iron ore is Haematite that occurs as long low ridges. The ore in these
areas is soft and easily mined by open cast, though shafts have to be sunk to reach deeper deposits in
some ranges. The high grade ores have been worked since the Mid-19th century and are nearing

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exhaustion although low grade ores are abundant. The high grade ores from abroad henceforth
outcompeted the domestic supplies.

Factors That Have Led to the Growth and Development of the Mining Industry in the great lakes of the
USA.

Physical factors.

There is availability of large deposits of minerals in the great lake. Coal in the Great Lakes is found at
Michigan (fringing Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron), Pittsburgh, the edge of rivers in the Appalachians
Plateau, Bethlehem (in the Appalachians) and near Lake Superior. Iron ore deposits are around Lake
Superior especially at Mesabi Mountain Ranges, in the Great Lakes at the Vermillion Range, Cuyana,
Gogebic, Menominee and Marquette Range. More coal was found in the Eastern Interior Fields. This
includes coal fields of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

There is availability of high quality coal lying exposed on the surface of the earth while part of it lies
concealed in layers very close to the surface. Coal in the Great Lakes is found at Michigan (fringing
Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron), Pittsburgh, the edge of rivers in the Appalachians Plateau, Bethlehem
(in the Appalachians) and near Lake Superior. More coal was found in the Eastern Interior Fields. This
includes coal fields of Illinois Indiana and Kentucky.

The nearness of coal deposits to the surface made it possible for mines to be established. Coal in the
Great Lakes is found at Michigan (fringing Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron), Pittsburgh, the edge of rivers
in the Appalachians Plateau, Bethlehem (in the Appalachians) and near Lake Superior. Iron ore
deposits are around Lake Superior especially at Mesabi Mountain Ranges, in the Great Lakes at the
Vermillion Range, Cuyana, Gogebic, Menominee and Marquette Range. More coal was found in the
Eastern Interior Fields. This includes coal fields of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Most of these deposits
were in close proximity to one another. This allowed convenient use of coal as fuel, first to process the
iron ore into steel and manufacture products from steel.

There were other forms of energy in the great lakes of the USA. The most important oil mining areas of
the USA is the Gulf Coast, that is, the coastal areas of Texas and Louisiana. This is followed by the mid
continental area in the states of Kansas and Oklahoma. The third is in the Central California. While
hydroelectricity was generated from waterfalls on rivers such as the St. Lawrence on the Niagara Falls.
Amongst others. These various sources of power supported mineral exploitation and mineral processing,
in the recent years, renewable energy sources of power have been preferred because their
environmentally friendly benefits. Nuclear energy (though used extensively up to 2020), it is being
phased out (although the hard-black-bituminous coal that burns with less carbon dioxide compared to
the brown lignite is still being extensively used).

There is presence of large quantities of water from the St. Lawrence, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers
and their tributaries amongst others. This water is used in cooling the machines and processing coal into
other coal products in the great lakes mining cities and industrial cities such as Michigan, Pittsburgh,
Bethlehem, Illinois, Buffalo, Cleveland, Portage, Gary, Silver Bay, Thunder Bay, Pickering, Whit by,
Oakville, Duluth Bay Field, Goodrich, Lakewood, Marquette amongst others.

There is presence of a large number of other minerals in the great lakes region. For example, coal, iron
ore, copper, nickel, gold amongst others. These minerals have attracted a large number of mining

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companies and they have had to share mining technologies, economies of scale, and they have led to
mining inertia where mining companies share mining tools and other resources in Michigan, Pittsburgh,
Bethlehem and Illinois.

Human or socio-economic factors.

There is up to the present, well developed and cheap efficient transport and communication system in
the Great Lakes and the USA in at large. These are provided by the St. Lawrence Sea Way and its many
tributaries. The St. Lawrence Sea Way is linked with a system of canals such as the South Shore Canal,
Beauharnais Canal, Willey-Dondero Canal, Iroquois Canal, Welland Canal, and Erie Canal. These canals
improve the transportation capacity of the St. Lawrence Sea Way of transporting coal and iron ore to
industries and foreign markets in the rest of Europe especially. The Great Lakes region has both roads
and railway systems that transport coal and iron ore around the Great Lakes which has led to the
growth and development of the mining industry in the Great Lakes cities of Michigan, Pittsburgh,
Bethlehem and Illinois and USA at large.

There is availability of large sums of capital resources since the USA is an advanced and richest nation
and a key members of the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and IMF. This enabled the mining
companies to invest in coal and iron ore mining. This capital was used in large scale prospecting,
exploration, research, coal extraction, setting up coal and iron ore, processing chemicals industries and
coal and steel related factories in Michigan, Pittsburgh, Bethlehem and Illinois. These consume the
coal for power generation.

There has been a steady development of modern and advanced technology in the mining sector such as
open cast use of explosives and excavators, for deposits near the surface in the exposed coal and iron
ore fields at Michigan, Pittsburgh, Bethlehem and Illinois. Large machines are used such as shovel
wheels, excavators and draglines. These machines can do a lot of work. There is intensive research in
mining technology such as shovels wheels, use of cranes and excavators to support exploitation. This
increases the quality and quantity of mineral production.

There is availability of skilled labor that is readily employed in mining because a body of skilled labor has
been developed right from the time of the industrial revolution in the mining sector such as geologists
specializing in mineral exploration, research, mining engineers, machine operators, managers and
drivers. This has increased efficiency in the mining industry. It should be noted that the USA has the
third largest population in world and the and the great lakes has dense population in the states of
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania And New York (10% of the total
population of the USA). These people who are a source of both the required skilled labor and manual
labor. This dense population is concentrated in the towns of Springfield-Illinois, Indianapolis-Indiana,
Lansing-Michigan, St. Paul Minnesota, Columbus-Ohio, Duluth- Minnesota, Detroit-Michigan, and
Cleveland –Ohio Madison-Wisconsin amongst others.

There is availability of a large market base since the great lakes in particular and the USA in general is a
high income country and it has the largest industrial establishments in the world in the cities of
Springfield-Illinois, Indianapolis-Indiana, Lansing-Michigan, St. Paul Minnesota, Columbus-Ohio,
Duluth- Minnesota, Detroit-Michigan, Cleveland –Ohio Madison-Wisconsin. These industries produce a
lot of products whose market is from the named industrial towns and the rest of the world. Coal is used
in the coking of iron as a catalyst in blast furnaces and as a source of power. Of all the coal produced in

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After the Second World War and lately, by 1989, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and razing of the
Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war, USA has been politically stable and it has been a democratic
nation since the end of the civil war. This has made the USA to remain a peaceful country providing the
necessary conditions for the rehabilitation of mines. Political stability has increased the confidence of
investors and hence enabled the establishment and maintenance of mineral processing plants at
Springfield-Illinois, Indianapolis-Indiana, Lansing-Michigan, St. Paul Minnesota, Columbus-Ohio,
Duluth- Minnesota, Detroit-Michigan, and Cleveland –Ohio Madison-Wisconsin.

There has been positive or supportive government policy towards the mining such as originally investing
in the mining sector with powerful industries at Springfield-Illinois, Indianapolis-Indiana, Lansing-
Michigan, St. Paul Minnesota, Columbus-Ohio, Duluth- Minnesota, Detroit-Michigan, and Cleveland –
Ohio Madison-Wisconsin. The USA government has always provided enabling policies and subsidies
such that mining continues in the rather uneconomical concealed mines. This has attracted foreign
investors from Europe and Asia.

There has been a high level of intensive research in the mining sector which leads to the discovery of
more mineral deposits, improves the quantity and quality of produce from coal products. There is
intensive research into the mining technology and new uses of minerals. This in turn has led to the
expansion and development of mining in the Great Lakes cities of Springfield-Illinois, Indianapolis-
Indiana, Lansing-Michigan, St. Paul Minnesota, Columbus-Ohio, Duluth- Minnesota, Detroit-Michigan,
and Cleveland-Ohio Madison-Wisconsin.

There is ready market or the minerals mined in the Great Lakes. This is because the USA has a large
industrial establishment which demand almost all kinds of minerals. The mining of iron ore and coal has
developed because of the high demand for these minerals in the great lakes. This has led to the
development of mining in the Great Lakes cities of Springfield-Illinois, Indianapolis-Indiana, Lansing-
Michigan, St. Paul Minnesota, Columbus-Ohio, Duluth- Minnesota, Detroit-Michigan, and Cleveland-
Ohio Madison-Wisconsin

Mining In France.

A Case Study of the Alsace and Lorraine.

France is one of the largest producers of iron ore. The main iron ore fields being in Lorraine where the
Jurassic Minetto ores are found. These have a relatively low iron content, less than 40% and a high
phosphoric content. However, they occur in association with limestone and tend to be self-fluxing
which is an advantage in smelting. The ore beds are about 30meters (100ft) thick and lie 180meters
(600ft) below the surface. Iron ore in Lorraine is mined at Briey, Longwy and Metz-Thionville (although
output declined). A little iron ore is also mined at Normandy, the Pyrenees and scattered fields of the
Central Massif.

There are small coal fields in the French North East Industrial Region which also drew coal supplies
from the smaller Alsace and Lorraine fields. This is a north westerly extension of the Saar Coal Fields of
Germany. The Coal Far North East France was good for heating and gasification purposes but for
making coke for steel works, it had to be mixed with imported coal from Germany or Britain. Mining
went as deep as 4,000ft (1220meters). The deep seated seams were thin and badly contorted, making
mining very expensive. France’s leading industrial towns which grew up on the coal fields are Metz,

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Nancy, Lille and Lens. Minor coal deposits found in the Central Massif gave rise to the industrial towns
of St. Etienne, Le Creusot, and Ales. These towns used and still make steel machines, ornaments and
chemicals.

Note: most of the much needed coal in France is virtually imported from Germany in exchange with iron
ore.

Guiding questions.

1. Account for the development of the mining industry in either Nigeria or USA.
2. Assess the role of the mining industry in the development of the economy of either Zambia or
Germany.
3. Examine the problems facing the mining industry in either Zambia or USA.
4. Using specific examples, assess the significance of the mineral resources as a basis for industrial
development in either one developed country or one developing country.
5. To what extent have the mineral resources led to the growth and development of towns in
either the republic of South Africa or Alsace and Lorraine in France?
6. Assess the impact of mining on the environment in the great lakes of the USA.
7. With reference to either the DRC or Germany, discuss the problems facing the mining industry
and suggest possible solutions to the problems.
8. Assess the contribution of the mining industry to the development of either the great lakes of
the USA or the Witwatersrand region of South Africa.
9. Account for the development of the mining industry in either Liberia or Germany.
10. Describe the conditions that have favored the development of the mining industry in either
Liberia or Germany.
11. (a) Differentiate between adit and shaft methods of mining.
(b) Explain the challenges facing the mining industry in either the DRC or Libya
12. Describe the factors limiting exploitation of the mineral resources in either Nigeria or DRC.
13. Assess the impact of the mining industry on the environment in either Germany or the DRC
14. Assess the contribution of the mining industry to the development of either Egypt or Algeria.
15. To what extent has the presence of power and energy resources influenced the distribution of
iron and steel industries in either Germany or France?
16. To what extent has transport contributed to the development of the mining industry in either
the great lakes region of the USA or the Zambian copper belt?
17. Examine the problems faced by the mining industry in either the Witwatersrand of the republic
of South Africa or the Ruhr region of Germany.
18. Discuss the role played by the government policy in the development of the mining industry in
either Germany or the republic of South Africa.
19. To what extent have physical factors influenced the exploitation of mineral resources in either
Zambia or Germany?

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