The Copperbelt is a geological province in Central Africa spanning northern Zambia and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, containing the world's largest and highest-grade sedimentary-hosted stratiform copper deposits, along with significant cobalt resources.[1][2][3]Mining in the region, which began in earnest during the late 1920s following prospecting discoveries, transformed sparsely populated areas into industrial centers, with underground orebodies fueling rapid economic expansion under colonial administration.[4][5]Key mining hubs include Kitwe and Ndola in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, and Lubumbashi and Kolwezi in the DRC's Haut-Katanga and Lualaba provinces, where operations have historically accounted for the majority of Africa's copper output.[6][7] The region's deposits, formed through ancient sedimentary processes, have produced or identified nearly 200 million tonnes of copper, underpinning global supply chains for electrical wiring,