Nchanga Mines - Nchanga Open Pit Mine

Nchanga Open Pit Mine

The Open Pits at Nchanga Mine are situated in a crescent shaped structure 11 km long around the municipal town of Chingola in Zambia. Covering nearly 30 kmĀ² it is the second largest open cast mine in the world. The deepest part of the pit is 400 m lower than the surrounding plateau.

Open Pit mining at Nchanga started in 1955, in the main Nchanga Open Pit. Subsequently, nine medium sized open pits, called satellite pits, have also been mined at one time or the other.

At present, mining is concentrated on the main Nchanga pit, with satellite planned for future extensions, as economics and processing technological developments unfold. Together they are termed generically as the Nchanga Open Pits.

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