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MODERN MINING
April 2015
COUNTRY FOCUS –
ZAMBIA
feature
E
xplaining the background to AMC,
Mukonka says it was founded by
Martin Broome in 1994. “Martin
came to Zambia in the 1970s,” he
says. “He was an MSc graduate in
Rock Mechanics of Imperial College, London,
and – after arriving on the Copperbelt – enjoyed
a long career with ZCCM, the state mining com-
pany, which saw him eventually becoming
Group Rock Mechanic Engineer. He founded
AMC in 1994 and his timing was nearly perfect.
The second half of the 1990s saw the privatisa-
tion of ZCCM’s assets and this process gener-
ated a steady flow of work for the new consul-
tancy, enabling it to expand quite rapidly.”
Broome retired in 2009 (he now lives in
Australia) and Mukonka – who joined AMC in
2002 and is one of its shareholders – has led
the company since his departure. A Mining
Engineering graduate of the University of
Zambia, he started his career with Zambia’s
Mines Safety Department, which saw him
being seconded to the Luanshya copper mine
near Ndola, now defunct but, in its day, one of
the pillars of the Copperbelt. He heads AMC’s
mining division (AMC Mining Services) and
has expertise in – among other disciplines
– mine planning and design, open-pit optimi-
sation, drill-and-blast design, geological and
resource modelling, mine audits and mine
studies (from the scoping study stage through
to full feasibility).
Mukonka is also an expert in Geovia’s
Surpac and Whittle software. “We are, in fact,
the distributor for Geovia in Zambia and this
constitutes a very healthy side of our business,”
he says. “Our relationships with the mines
means that we are well suited to marketing the
Geovia range. Apart from sales, we also provide
training on the software and this keeps us very
busy as there is hardly a mine in Zambia which
does not make use of the products.”
Although it started as a mining consul-
tancy, AMC has subsequently branched out
into exploration (AMC Exploration Services)
and environmental work (AMC Environmental
Services). It has also diversified geographically
since its founding. Although the bulk of its
workload has been – and remains – in Zambia
and the neighbouring DRC (in particular Katanga
Province), it has undertaken contracts all over
the continent – as far south as Richards Bay in
South Africa and as far north as Mauritania,
Eritrea and Sudan. It operates over all com-
modities but, given its history and location, is
especially recognised for its expertise in copper.
Interestingly, AMC Exploration Services
is headed by Thomas Rogers, who is based
between Gaborone in Botswana and Kitwe in
Zambia. He received his BSc (Hons) in Geology
from St Andrews University in Scotland. He
has extensive experience in Africa, having
worked in over 10 countries on the continent,
and played a prominent role – while represent-
ing AMC – in the world class Kamoa copper
discovery near Kolwezi in the DRC – reputedly
the largest newly discovered undeveloped cop-
per deposit on the planet! Rogers, along with Dr
David Broughton, Executive VP of Exploration
at Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (the owner of Kamoa),
and other members of the discovery team were
honoured earlier this year when they received
the prestigious Thayer Lindsley Award from
the Prospectors & Developers Association of
Canada (PDAC). The award, which is presented
annually by the PDAC, recognises an individ-
ual or a team of explorationists credited with a
recent significant mineral discovery or series of
AMC –
a consultancy with a
long
Copperbelt
track record
Edwin Mukonka, GM of
African Mining Consultants
(AMC).
While it would probably be true to say that the greatest concentration of mining
consultancy skills in Africa resides in South Africa, and specifically Johannes-
burg, this is not to say that some African countries do not have their own home-
grown expertise. Serving the Copperbelt in Zambia, for example, is African Min-
ing Consultants (AMC), a company which has created a formidable reputation
since being formed in 1994 and which has worked over the past 21 years for just
about every mine in Zambia.
Modern Mining’s
Arthur Tassell recently spoke to
AMC’s General Manager, Edwin Mukonka, at the company’s offices in Kitwe.