Kolwezi
Kolwezi | |
|---|---|
  Kolwezi Location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| Coordinates: 10°43′S 25°28′E / 10.717°S 25.467°E / -10.717; 25.467 | |
| Country |  Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Province | Lualaba Province |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 213 km2 (82 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,448 m (4,751 ft) |
| Population (2015[1]) | |
| • Total | 572,942 |
| • Density | 2,700/km2 (7,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (Lubumbashi Time) |
| Climate | Cwa |
Kolwezi or Kolwesi is the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Likasi. It is home to an airport and a railway to Lubumbashi. The population is approximately 453,000.
Contents
1 Economy
2 History
3 Battle of Kolwezi (1978)
4 Climate
5 Transportation
5.1 Air
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Economy
Kolwezi is an important mining centre for copper and cobalt. There are also uranium, radium, oxide ores, and lime deposits.
The Musonoi mine is a set of open-cut pits near Kolwezi from which copper and other metals have been extracted since the 1940s.[2]
The nearby Lake Nzilo was created by damming the Lualaba River to provide a source of hydroelectric power and a reservoir of water for the mining activities.[3][4]
History
The city was created in 1937 to be the headquarters for the western mining group of the Union Minière du Haut Katanga.
Near Kolwezi there is the static inverter plant of the HVDC Inga-Shaba.[5]
Battle of Kolwezi (1978)
On Saturday,13 May 1978, ex – Katangese soldiers supported by Angola, occupied the city. The government of Zaire asked Belgium, France, Morocco and the United States to restore order. The 2e REP, an elite paratroopers unit of the French Foreign Legion, were sent in to drive out the rebels and rescue any hostages. The Belgian army also deployed a force of some 750 Paracommando Regiment paratroopers and moved out just over 1,800 Europeans to other cities in the region. 700 Africans, including 250 rebels,[6] 170 European hostages and 6 paratroopers died.
Climate
| Climate data for Kolwezi | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 26 (79) | 27 (80) | 27 (80) | 27 (80) | 27 (80) | 25 (77) | 26 (79) | 28 (83) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 27 (80) | 26 (79) | 27 (81) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 16 (60) | 16 (60) | 16 (60) | 15 (59) | 13 (56) | 11 (51) | 11 (51) | 13 (55) | 14 (58) | 16 (60) | 16 (60) | 16 (60) | 14 (58) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 130 (5.2) | 170 (6.5) | 200 (9) | 70 (2.6) | 10 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 10 (0.2) | 70 (2.6) | 260 (10.2) | 240 (9.3) | 1,160 (45.8) |
| Source: Weatherbase[7] | |||||||||||||
Battle of Kolwezi, 1978
A specimen of Kolwezite (green), a rare copper-cobalt mineral named after Kolwezi,[8] and pink cobaltoan calcite.
Transportation
Air
The Kolwezi Airport serves Kolwezi and the surrounding area. The airport is located about 6 km (4 mi) south of Kolwezi.[9]
See also
- University of Kolwezi
- Shaba I
- Shaba II
- Angolan Civil War
References
^ https://www.caid.cd/index.php/donnees-par-villes/ville-de-kolwezi/?domaine=fiche
^ "Musonoi Mine, Kolwezi, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga (Shaba), Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre)". Mindat.org. Retrieved 4 November 2011..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ Davies, Bryan Robert; Walker, Keith F. (1986). The Ecology of river systems. Springer. p. 203. ISBN 90-6193-540-7.
^ KEITH E. BANISTER, ROLAND G. BAILEY (July 1979). "Fishes collected by the Zaire River Expedition, 1974–75" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 66: 205–249. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1979.tb01909.x. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
^ Dalarnas Tidningar – Ludvika
^ Général Gaussères. Les enseignements de Kolwezi – Mai 1978, in les Cahiers du Retex n° 12, supplément à Objectif doctrine 37 (published by Centre de doctrine de l'emploi des forces, Ministère de la Défense). On line : "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2009.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link) , 37-31
^
"Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo". Weatherbase. 2011.
Retrieved on 24 November 2011.
^ Kolwezite Mineral Data
^ "Distance and heading from Kolwezi to airport". WikiMapia. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minerals of Kolwezi. |
- "The French Foreign Legion in Kolwezi"(Broken Promise) [1] By Roger Rousseau aux Editions Rexy
ISBN 2-9526927-1-8
Capitals of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||
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Provinces are shown between brackets | ||
Coordinates: 10°43′S 25°28′E / 10.717°S 25.467°E / -10.717; 25.467
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