Mufulira is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. Mufulira means "Place of Abundance and Peace". The town developed around the Mufulira Copper Mine in the 1930s. The town also serves as the administrative capital of Mufulira District.[1]
Geography
Location
Mufulira is located approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of the town of Mokambo, at the international border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] A tarmac highway to the south-west (the M4 road) connects Mufulira to Kitwe, 43 kilometres (27 mi) away.[3]
The city of Ndola, the commercial and transport hub of the Copperbelt, lies approximately 105 kilometres (65 mi), by road, southeast of Mufulira. A shorter, less well-maintained road (the M4 road) exists and measures 70 kilometres (43 mi).[4]
Mufulira is connected to the Mokambo Border and eventually the Luapula Province of Zambia by the Congo Pedicle road. The section from Mufulira to Mokambo is designated as the M5 road while the route through the Congo Pedicle to the Chembe Border is named the Congo Pedicle road.
The town of Mufulira developed around the Mufulira Copper Mine in the 1930s. A branch of Zambia Railways, carrying freight only, serves the mine. Mufulira is the south-western end of the Congo Pedicle road connecting the Copperbelt Province to the Luapula Province, making that province Mufulira's commercial hinterland.[1]
Population
In 1990, the population of Mufulira was 123,936 people. In 2000, there were 122,336 people. The 2010 population census and household survey enumerated the population of the town at 151,309 inhabitants.[7] The table below illustrates the same data in tabular format.
The Mufulira Mine is now owned and operated by Mopani Copper Mines, which employs 10,000 permanent workers and produced about 300,000 tonnes (330,693 tons) of copper bars in 2007. The Mufulira Copper Smelter was rehabilitated by SMEC South Africa. Production and employment levels went down from the 1969 peak when the Copperbelt made Zambia the world's 4th largest copper producer.[1][8]
Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe (1922–1980), who served as Vice President of Zambia from 1967 until 1970. He served as member of parliament for Mufulira West Constituency from December 1971 until February 1972, under the UPP political party, the only UPP MP elected.[11]
Kenneth Kaunda (born 1924), the founder President of Zambia, in office from 1964 until 1991. In 1948, he served as a teacher and boarding master at Mufulira Upper School.[12]
^Mbendi South Africa (17 November 2000). "Overview of Copper Mining In Zambia". Cape Town: Mbendi South Africa. Archived from the original(Archived from the original on 17 February 2007) on 17 February 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
^The Gale Group, Inc (2010). "Kenneth David Kaunda Facts". Burlingame, California, United States: Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
