Chukwuemeka "God has done it" Gem Mine

Fifty-two year old Namakau Kaingu wears so many hats that she needs two business cards to list her positions: Executive Director of Zambian Women in Mining and Development; Regional Chairperson of SADC Women in Mining Trust; Coordinator of African Women in Mining Network; Managing Director of Kaingu Gem Mines and Lapidary; Trustee of Kaingu Women Cooperative Society; and Patron of Kaingu Community School. I first met her in Lusaka. She had several cell phones strung around her neck which rang insistently, often at the same time. Namakau is a self-taught open-pit gem miner with an advanced certificate in gemology. She got into mining 20 years ago when she needed to support a large family and gemstones seemed a good way to do that. But getting started wasn't easy. She traveled alone to remote areas of the country to search for minerals and often slept in rudimentary shelters. All of her knowledge had to be acquired from books. Namakau now owns five mines, an aquamarine and quartz mine near Lake Itezi-Tezi, just east of Kafue National Park, and three amethyst mines further south. She came to my attention because of the cultural tourism program she is opening in a few months at her Itezi-Tezi mine. Visitors will be able to "mine" their own minerals under the instruction of Namakau and her crew. They will also be taught how to cut and polish their stones. For those who want to stay overnight and partake in Namakau's warm and very fun hospitality, a simple guesthouse is being built on the property. If mining your own aquamarine sounds too much like work, visitors can simply tour the mine and learn about its processes and buy cut stones from the lapidary on the premises.

I was also eager to meet Namakau because of what I assumed was her unique position as one of the few African women in mining, but she set me straight about that as soon as we met. There are more women in mining than you think, she said directly, all over Africa; they just haven't received any recognition or credit. Namakau calls her Itezi-Tezi mine Chukwuemeka, which is her son's name and a Nigerian (Ibo) word for "God has done it." It is not surprising to me that such an enterprising African woman is deeply devout, believing that she owes her success to a supreme power. But I see my new friend's qualities of determination, fearlessness, confidence, and ambition as contributing to where she is today too. A visit to Chukwuemeka can be easily fitted into a safari through south Kafue National Park. For Livingstone visitors, Namakau has a retail gem and jewellery shop in the Falls Business Center, next to the Zambezi Sun Hotel.

Did you know? Zambia has rich reserves of gemstones including the second largest deposits of emeralds in the world, and the largest deposits of amethyst in Africa.

14-10-2009