Chingola is home to Nchanga Copper Mine, one of the most important mines in the Copperbelt. Its open pits form an 11 km crescent on the town’s northern border; with a surface area of 30 km2 they make Nchanga the largest open pit mine in Africa. The town was developed in 1943 to service the mine.

With its tree-lined suburbs, Chingola was once considered to be the prettiest and cleanest town in the Copperbelt, but thanks to tremendous growth, today it’s dominated by mining activities and infrastructure.

Approximately 20 km north of Chingola you’ll find the town of Chililabombwe whose economy relies on copper mining as well as cross-border trading with the DRC. This town was formerly known as Bancroft, after the main copper mine which opened here in 1957; post Zambian independence in 1964, it was changed to Chililabombwe, meaning ‘the place of the croaking frog’ in the local language of the Lamba people. A small pond was home to an abundance of frogs and was believed to be the ancestral spirit of the Lamba, lending the town its name. Unfortunately the pond was drained to build Konkola Stadium and the frogs disappeared.

Today the mine is known as Chililabombwe Mine or Konkola South and is owned by Konkola Copper Mines who also own and operate Konkola North or Lubambe Mine. Due to the high rainfall in the region (more than 1 300 mm per year), Chililabombwe is the wettest mine in the world pumping out roughly 370 000 cubic meters of water per day to keep the mine from flooding. A national power outage in 2008 which lasted three days flooded close to 90% of the mine. Lubambe mine, some 12 km northwest of Chililabombwe, also known as Konkola North, opened in 2012, drastically increasing employment levels and improving the economy in the town.

For those so inclined, permits to visit the Nchanga mine can be obtained from the mine office in Fern Ave, Chingola. The Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, approximately 45 km northwest of Chingola, rescues injured or unwanted wildlife, but is best known for its orphaned chimpanzees. Started in 1983 by David and Sheila Siddle when they rescued an orphaned chimpanzee, today the orphanage houses about 120 chimpanzees making it one of the largest chimpanzee sanctuaries in the world. Self-catering accommodation is offered at the Orphanage, but booking is essential.

EMERGENCY SERVICES:
Tow-in services are based in Lusaka - try: +27(0)97 473 7848 / +260(0)96 676 1647.

Visitors to Zambia are advised to have their own personal travel insurance. Local police, hospitals, clinics etc. cannot be relied upon.
Please note that any emergency numbers indicated on our data will be for the local police, hospital, clinic etc. and most of the times, don't work. Many tourism sites show the numbers like 999 for police, they often don’t work.

If you have a medical problem when in Zambia, Specialty Emergency Services has a Call Centre (24 hours). Phone them on 737. This company has offices in Livingstone, Lusaka and Kitwe. But they will fly anywhere to assist if visitors have the right insurance. If you want to check your insurance, contact SES on [email protected]. (http://ses-zambia.com/).

GAS REFILL:
For gas refill service, it is available at Lake Petroleum Filling or Tools Galore, where travellers can refill their CADAC gas cylinder.

HEALTHCARE:
There is the Nchanga South Hospital. There is also the Nchanga North Hospital and the KCM South hospital. There are also day clinics such as the Kasompe Clinic and Chawama Clinic. For pharmaceutical services in Chingola visit the Afrogreen Pharmacy Limited situated along Chikombe Road, Chimwempala and C Stubbs Pharmaceutical & Dispensing Chemists along Kwacha Street.

MECHANICAL SERVICES:
There is the Keep Moving Auto Spares along Chiwempala Rd, open daily from 06h00.

POLICE:
There is the main Chingola Police Station, but there are also other police stations around like the Chiwempala Police Station.

POPULATION:
With a population of over 200 000 people, Chingola is one of the larger towns in the region.

SHOPS & SERVICES:
The town has an airport, two shopping malls, two hospitals, banks and several fuel stations. Though smaller than Chingola, Chililabombwe still has good shopping, banks and fuel stops.
Various restaurants are available in town serving Greek cuisine, Indian Cuisine and fast food restaurant like Hungry Lion. Car rental services are also available.

TYRE REPAIRS:
There is a tyre repair centre, the Muslut - Kwik Fit Tyre Fitment Centre situated close to Total Fuel Station along Kabundi Road and the Kazlyn Tyres Solutions. Kazlyn Tyres Solutions situated just off Station Rd and open Mon-Sat from 08h00-17h00 except Sundays.

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