Limestone quarries flourish amid Copperbelt boom
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Limestone quarries flourish amid Copperbelt boom
The quarrying sector in the Zambian Copperbelt is booming as copper production surges.
By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine.
As more copper mines start production, and expansion projects come online in the Central African Copperbelt, demand for quicklime in the region has increased significantly.
As a result, the Zambian Copperbelt has witnessed the establishment of several new limestone quarries, a number of existing quarrying operations are scaling up and a few new ones are in the pipeline.
Companies like London listed Firering Strategic Minerals and Limestone Resources are at the forefront of this expansion.
Quicklime added to flotation pulp
In copper mining quicklime is added to the flotation pulp to separate copper minerals from the rock and to raise and control the pH level. Quicklime also neutralises acidic conditions that might arise from sulfide oxidation in the process protecting equipment and improving recovery.
In the smelting phase (where copper concentrate is heated to extract pure copper), quicklime acts as a flux.
The volumes of quicklime needed obviously depends on the size of the mine, and the processing methods used. However, a ballpark estimate is that a copper mine processing about 100,000 tons of ore per day will use between 30 to 100 tons of quicklime per day (between 900 to 3000 tons per month).
Quicklime is manufactured from the raw material limestone which, in turn, is mined from numerous limestone quarries in and around the Copperbelt province and towards the Central Province and Lusaka.
Where are the limestone deposits
Major limestone deposits are found in the Copperbelt Province in and around Ndola, Kitwe and Chingola. The main existing quicklime suppliers in the Copperbelt include Limestone Resources and Handyman’s Lime, both close to Ndola, and Newcrest Lime to the west of Lusaka.
Firering comes online
Firering Strategic Minerals’ quicklime operation, Limeco Resources, recently recorded its first sales of high-purity quicklime. The company is upgrading three of eight kilns (Kilns 2–4) marking the next phase of operational ramp-up.
Limeco operates a large-scale limestone project approximately 22km west of Lusaka, Zambia.
Read more about quarries on WhyAfrica
To read more about the quarrying sector in Africa, copper mining in Zambia, and the sustainable use of Africa’s natural resources, visit the WhyAfrica website, your one-stop shop for on the ground information and business intelligence about Africa.
During our upcoming 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip through Africa we will visit various operational quarries so if you have solutions in this very challenging sector, please let us know.
Remember, as a WhyAfrica member you will be able to follow us live and get daily updates during our trip on the WhyAfrica Road Trip WhatsApp channel. To sign up and become a member, visit the WhyAfrica website.
Image credit: Leon Louw for WhyAfrica
Limestone quarries flourish amid Copperbelt boom
