#solwezi

[phenomenalgems]

🍋☀️ Sunny, warm vibes from this gorgeous natural Citrine geode from a new find in Solwezi, Zambia! I love unheated Citrine, and I’m always on the hunt for neat localities—the specimens coming out of North-western Province in Zambia have a totally unique look which, at first glance, may remind you of the heated amethyst that commonly comes from Brazil and Uruguay. However, this unheated and untreated geode has an organic beauty that really sets it apart, and crystals are in great condition. This large geode is raw, powerful, and full of sunny Citrine energy! Dm for details or see it on PhenomenalGems.Etsy.com! 🍋☀️ #naturalcitrine #notheatedamethyst #citrine #zambia #solwezi #northwesternprovince #newfind #citrinegeode #prettycrystals #mineralspecimens #mineralsforsale #rockshop #crystalshop #itsabeautifulmorning #sunnyday #yellowcrystals #manifestationcrystal #fireelement #solarplexuschakra #phenomenalgems #etsycrystals https://www.instagram.com/p/CLuVSQ8ngKW/?igshid=16ibb26df4n5s

[blogmassivewitchbouquetstuff]

the zambian cities series: solwezi part two — the boom and what it means

the first quantum transformation: in 2001, FQM acquired a controlling stake in kansanshi mine. in 2005, full-scale copper production resumed. population: 23,435 in 1990 → 38,121 in 2000 → 90,856 in 2010 → 334,377 in 2022 — a nearly fourfold increase from 2010, one of the fastest urban growth rates in sub-saharan africa.

kansanshi today: one of africa's largest copper mines. gold produced as a significant byproduct. the $1.25 billion kansanshi S3 expansion commissioned in 2025.

sentinel and kalumbila: approximately 140km west of solwezi, kalumbila township is a purpose-built, self-sufficient urban environment established in 2012 — a mining settlement built with the explicit intention of providing permanent, quality urban infrastructure from the outset.

the boom-town tensions: as of 2015, only the main street, independence road, was named. many streets were unnamed and unpaved. water supply, sanitation, schools, and health facilities all struggled to keep pace.

the localisation question: the local content regulations (statutory instrument no. 68 of 2025) — in solwezi, not abstract policy. the difference between a mine buying cement from a solwezi supplier or importing from south africa.

the lobito corridor: the planned 800km greenfield railway will pass through or near solwezi district — connecting north-western province's mining economy to the atlantic ocean at lobito for the first time in history.

solwezi is the "new copperbelt." but unlike the original copperbelt — built by colonial companies whose priority was extracting value rather than building communities — solwezi has the opportunity, and the obligation, to be built differently. the question is whether zambia takes that opportunity.

the zambian cities series continues. 🇿🇲🏙

[blogmassivewitchbouquetstuff]

the zambian cities series: solwezi part two — the boom and what it means

the first quantum transformation: in 2001, first quantum minerals acquired a controlling stake in the kansanshi mine. in 2005, full-scale commercial copper production resumed. what followed was a demographic and economic transformation at a speed zambia had not seen since the original copperbelt boom of the 1930s.

population: 23,435 in 1990. 38,121 in 2000. 90,856 in 2010. 334,377 in the 2022 census — a nearly fourfold increase from 2010, representing one of the fastest urban growth rates in sub-saharan africa over that period.

kansanshi today: one of africa's largest copper mines, producing copper from both sulphide and oxide ores, plus gold as a significant byproduct. the $1.25 billion kansanshi S3 expansion was commissioned in 2025, substantially increasing processing capacity.

sentinel and kalumbila: the sentinel copper mine — approximately 140km west of solwezi in kalumbila district (carved out of solwezi district in 2016) — produces approximately 200,000 tonnes of copper per year. adjacent kalumbila township is a purpose-built, self-sufficient urban environment established in 2012 — a mining settlement built with the explicit intention of providing permanent, quality urban infrastructure from the outset.

the boom-town tensions: infrastructure development ran behind the swelling population throughout the 2000s and 2010s. as of 2015, only the main street, independence road, was named. water supply, sanitation, schools, and health facilities all struggled to keep pace.

the localisation question: the local content regulations (statutory instrument no. 68 of 2025) — in solwezi, not abstract policy. the difference between a mine buying cement from a solwezi supplier or importing from south africa; between local engineers in management or expatriate staff.

the lobito corridor: the planned 800km greenfield railway from chingola westward through north-western province will pass through or near solwezi district — connecting the province's mining economy to the atlantic ocean at lobito for the first time in history.

solwezi is the "new copperbelt." but unlike the original copperbelt — built by colonial companies whose priority was extracting value rather than building communities — solwezi has the opportunity, and the obligation, to be built differently.

the zambian cities series continues. 🇿🇲🏙

[blogmassivewitchbouquetstuff]

the zambian cities series: solwezi part one — history and identity

the name and the people: solwezi takes its name from a local kaonde headman — chief solwezi — whose village occupied the area before the colonial era. the kaonde are the largest tribe in solwezi, alongside significant numbers of lunda and luvale people — all peoples whose origins trace to the luba-lunda empire migrations from southern congo between the 16th and 18th centuries.

the kaonde were among the first people in what is now zambia to mine copper — as an iron age metallurgical practice whose archaeological traces at kansanshi date back to the 4th century AD. the ancient copper pits at kansanshi were evidence of sophisticated, localised metallurgical knowledge — crucible reduction techniques for separating copper from ore, predating the european presence in the region by more than a millennium. when british prospector george grey arrived in 1899, guided by chief kapiji mpanga to the ancient mine workings, he was finding a place that had already been mined for fifteen centuries.

the early colonial period: kansanshi mine began commercial production in 1905 — the first mine in northern rhodesia to commence commercial production, predating the copperbelt mines by decades.

the century of intermittent development: solwezi never stopped growing throughout the twentieth century, even when the mine was not producing at scale. the city grew continuously through regional and rural-urban migration — because it was the easternmost urban centre of north-western province and the logical destination for people seeking education, services, and commercial opportunity. the mine was always there, always shaping the city's self-understanding, but the city had its own growth trajectory not entirely determined by the mine's fortunes.

the kifubwa rock shelter: approximately 6km south of the central business district, the kifubwa rock stream shelter — a national monument — contains rock engravings carbon-dated to approximately 6300 BC. among the oldest human artworks found in zambia.

the likumbi lya mize ceremony of the luvale people and the chiwila ceremony of the kaonde people — living expressions of cultural traditions whose roots predate the colonial period by centuries. the giant wild mushrooms known as chiyowa that emerge from the miombo woodland during the rainy season are another expression of a place whose identity goes deeper than its copper.

the zambian cities series continues. 🇿🇲🏙

[blogmassivewitchbouquetstuff]

the zambian kingdoms series: the kaonde people

the kaonde are a bantu-speaking people concentrated in solwezi, kasempa, mufumbwe, kalumbila, and mushindamo in north-western province. chikaonde — the kaonde language — is one of the seven official vernacular languages of zambia. their name means thin one, derived from the river kaondi — narrow and thin — where they settled.

their origin traces to the luba empire in what is now the DRC. before the year 1600, the kaonde people were part of the luba empire, belonging to the basanga group. three distinct clans migrated separately into what is now zambia between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries — each arriving at different times, from slightly different directions.

the river clan under chief kasongo settled around solwezi, having spent some time south of the kafue river where they came into contact with the ila people. the mushroom clan under chief kasempa arrived from the north and, finding the river clan already settled, moved further south. the monkey clan under chief ntambo arrived from the south — from the barotse floodplain, where they had been living among the aluyi and kololo, leaving after a dispute with the kololo invaders.

what is distinctive about the kaonde political history is what did not happen. the three clans never unified under a paramount chief. unlike the lozi with the litunga, the bemba with the chitimukulu, the ngoni with mpezeni, or the lunda with the mwata yamvo — the kaonde lived as loosely connected families with similar language and customs, moving around considerably and mixing with neighbouring tribes. when they settled their present territory in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they acknowledged the paramount chief of the lunda empire to the north as their overlord. several autonomous kaonde chiefships arose in the eighteenth century and came to prominence in the nineteenth — a period marked by battles with the lozi and by kaonde slave raids against the ila.

north-western province — where the kaonde have lived for centuries — is the location of some of zambia's most significant modern copper discoveries. the kansanshi mine near solwezi, operated by first quantum minerals, is one of the largest copper mines in africa. the sentinel mine at kalumbila — also first quantum — is a massive open-pit operation. the lumwana mine — operated by barrick gold — is one of the world's largest copper mines by resource. the kaonde people are the indigenous inhabitants of the territory that these operations occupy.

the main traditional ceremony of the kaonde is the juba ja nsomo — hosted by senior chief kasempa of kasempa district, held during the first week of june. the chief blesses the food and the land, prays for protection from fierce animals, and gives thanks for the abundance of the season.

the zambian kingdoms series continues. 🇿🇲

[yohane23]

ZAMBIA IS BACK

View On WordPress

[yohane23]

Angolan Company interested in Solwezi - Jimbe Border Post Road.

Angolan Company interested in Solwezi – Jimbe Border Post Road.

View On WordPress

[tiozambia]

Solwezi man burnt for infecting girlfriend with HIV

Solwezi man burnt for infecting girlfriend with HIV

By Mwape Mwesa A-53-year-old man of Kabitaka area in Solwezi is nursing kerosene burns he sustained after being burnt by his 24-year-old girlfriend for allegedly infecting her with the HIV virus.

The incident is believed to have happened last night between 22 :00 and 22: 30 hours at house number 12959 Mulomba street in Kabitaka.

Northwestern Commissioner of Police Hudson Namachila has confirmed…

View On WordPress