In 1895 , Burnham went to Northern Rhodesia and found major copper deposits . In 1895 , Burnham went on to oversee and lead the massive Northern Territories ( BSA ) Exploration Co. expedition which first established for the British South Africa Company that major copper deposits existed in North-Eastern Rhodesia . Along the Kafue River in then North-Eastern Rhodesia , Burnham saw many similarities to copper deposits he had worked in the United States , and he encountered native peoples wearing copper bracelets .