Shaba

Shaba: see Katanga, province, Congo (Kinshasa).

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Shaba

a region of SE Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre): site of a secessionist movement during the 1960s and again declared itself independent in 1993; important for hydroelectric power and rich mineral resources (copper and tin ore). Pop.: 4 125 000 (1998 est.). Area: 496 964 sq. km (191 878 sq. miles)

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Shaba 

(until 1972, Katanga), a province in southeastern Zaïre; the chief mining region of the country and one of the most important mining regions in Africa. Area, 497,000 sq km. Population, 3.1 million (1974). The city of Lubumbashi is the capital of the province.

In the southern part of Shaba, along the border with Zambia, stretches a belt of rich copper deposits; the copper is found together with cobalt, zinc, uranium, and other metals. There are three main groups of deposits: the central group is centered at Li-kasi, the southeastern group at Lubumbashi, and the western group at Kolwezi. The western group yields more than two-thirds of Shaba’s total output of copper and complex ores.

Metallurgical works are located in Lubumbashi (copper), Likasi (copper and cobalt), Kolwezi (zinc, cadmium, and germanium), and Luilu (copper and cobalt). Electricity for the mining and metallurgical industries in the copper belt is supplied by the hydroelectric power plants of Le Marinel (258 megawatts) and Delcommune (108 megawatts) on the Luaiaba River. In 1975 the companies of the copper belt produced a total of 495,000 tons of copper in the form of concentrates (452,000 tons of smelted copper), 12,100 tons of cobalt in the form of semifinished material (the highest amount in the capitalist world), and 79,000 tons of zinc (66,000 tons of smelted zinc).

Manganese ore is mined in Kisenge, in the southwestern part of the province (308,500 tons in 1975). Manono, which is located in the north, is the center for the mining of tin. Coal is mined in the Luena coalfield (0.1 million tons in 1975).

The cities of Shaba have chemical, cement, metalworking, textile, and food-processing plants. Mining and metallurgical products are exported through the ports of Matadi, Lobito (Angola), Beira (Mozambique), and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania); these ports all have rail or combined water-and-rail links with Shaba.