A history of Rhokana/Rokana Corporation and its Nkana Mine Division, 1928-1991

This dissertation is a detailed historical account of the corporate structure, labour relations and profitability of the Rhokana Corporation and its Nkana mine. Thematically and chronologically organised, it starts with the discovery of viable ores on the Copperbelt in the late 1920s, which attracted foreign capital from South Africa, Britain and the United States of America, prompting the development of the Nkana mine and the formation of the Rhokana Corporation in the early 1930s. The study concludes with the re-privatisation of the Zambian mining sector in 1991. It draws heavily from primary data housed in the Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia, National Archives of Zambia, United National Independence Party Archives and Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Archives, as well as interviews with key players in the Zambian copper mining industry. In doing so, the thesis contributes to the historiography of the political economy of the copper industry in Zambia. While the subject’s existing historiography has examined themes of corporate structure, labour relations and profitability in isolation and for relatively short periods when assessing the development of the Northern Rhodesian/Zambian mining sector, this thesis combines all three themes in Rhokana/Nkana’s history, investigating them over a long time period in order to construct a detailed historical perspective. The dissertation argues that Rhokana for a time was the most important mining entity in the Northern Rhodesian/Zambian mining industry. Rhokana was both an investment firm on the Copperbelt and a mining company through Nkana mine. The Corporation was consulting engineer to the mines owned by Rhodesian Anglo American Corporation on behalf of its parent company, the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa. It also invested in certain of the mines owned by the Rhodesian Selection Trust. Rhokana contributed significantly to the development of the copper industry in Zambia. Its corporate and labour policies influenced the Copperbelt as a whole. Employing the largest labour force in the mining sector, Rhokana spearheaded the labour movement on the Copperbelt. Its Nkana mine was also the largest producer of copper in the Northern Rhodesian mining industry between 1940 and 1953, and contributed hugely to the war economies of Britain and the United States of America. Throughout its history, Nkana was also a major source of cobalt. After nationalisation of the mining sector in 1970, Rhokana surrendered its investments in the wider copper industry, but remained central to the Copperbelt’s smelting and refining operations, owning the biggest metallurgical facilities in the industry. Through all of this, Rhokana’s corporate strategy evolved over time, as the Corporation cooperated with key stakeholders in the copper industry in order to safeguard its operations and profitability.