a small township to the second largest city in Zambia, obtaining city status in 1966. It then developed as an industrial and commercial area and later an important agricultural area. The good central position of the city in the Copperbelt area made it the most popular choice for industrial developers even today in the 2020s. Mining Kitwe is the base for a number of mining operations including the Mopani Copper Mines. Kitwe has rich copper, cobalt and emerald deposits among other minerals. It is home to Mopani Copper Mine's Nkana Cobalt Plant, one of Africa's largest mines. The mine is located 1 km south west of Kitwe. Nkana cobalt mine is the deepest mine on the Zambian Copperbelt. It has two shafts below 1,300 meters and three open pits. The plant treats cobalt concentrates to produce high purity cobalt metal. At Nkana, copper and cobalt ore is produced from five sources: four underground mines namely, Mindola North Shaft, Mindola Sub Vertical Shaft, Central Shaft, South Ore Body (SOB) Shaft and open pits dotted across the Nkana Oxide Cap. The following is a list of Mining Companies in Kitwe (as of 2019), Mopani Copper Mines Nkana Cobalt Plant Konkola Copper Mines Copper Refining Plant EC Mining Grizzly Mining Kagem Mining Ltd African Mining Consultants Sandvik Mining AAC Mining Executors Ltd Such a concentration of mining companies makes Kitwe the mining hub of Zambia Manufacturing Kitwe hosts a wide range of manufacturing companies and industrial organisations. The city manufactures a wide range of products like processed foods, steel, electrical and electronic, chemicals, engineering and many other products found in any industrial centre in the world. Notable companies include SCAW Limited, Piggot Maskew Limited, Monarch to name but a few. Communications Railway Kitwe lies at the end of Zambia Railways' passenger services from Livingstone, Lusaka and Ndola, but freight lines continue to the mining towns to the north-west. Road The main highway through the Copperbelt (the T3 Highway) runs south-east to north-west through the city, to Ndola (as a dual carriageway) in the south-east, and to Chingola (as a dual carriageway) and Chililabombwe in the north-west. A laterite road (the M7 Road) goes west to Kalulushi and Kasempa. Airport Southdowns Airport lies about 12 km south-west of the town but does not receive many scheduled services. The airport was closed down for repair in 2005, and re-opened in 2008. Ndola Airport is 50