Likasi (formerly official names: Jadotville ( French) and Jadotstad ( Dutch)) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Haut-Katanga Province Haut-Katanga (French for "Upper Katanga") is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the Subdivisions of the DR Congo#New provinces, 2015 repartitioning. Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba Province, Lualaba, an ...

, in the south-east of the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Demographics

Likasi has a population of around 635,000 (2015). During the 1990s the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

set up feeding centres and refugee centres in and around Likasi to assist with the refugees fleeing ethnic violence in Shaba, whose arrival had increased the population of the town some 41,000.

History

Shinkolobwe Shinkolobwe, or Kasolo, or Chinkolobew, or Shainkolobwe, was a radium and uranium mine in the Haut-Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located west of Likasi (formerly Jadotville), south of Kambove, and about northwe ...

mine, 20 km west of Likasi (then called Jadotville), was described by a 1943

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

intelligence report as the most important deposit of uranium yet discovered in the world. The uranium from this mine was used to build the atomic bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. In 1961, during the

intervention in the Katanga conflict, a company of Irish UN troops deployed to Jadotville fought valiantly, but was besieged and eventually surrendered to troops loyal to the Katangese Prime Minister

Moïse Tshombe Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a List of people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of ...

Economy

Likasi remains a centre for industry, especially mining, and is a transport hub for the surrounding region. There are mines and refineries supplied by nearby deposits of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...

. A $17 million crushing plant was installed in nearby Kamatanda that became operational at the start of 2019. The crushed ore is fed to the Heap Leach Unit in

Panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is ...

, then the copper-containing solution is taken to the electrolysis room at the Shituru Factories in Likasi, where high-quality copper electrodes are produced. There is also an abandoned gold mine in Likasi, which has been commercially depleted but is still dug by artisanal miners.

Transport

Likasi is served by a station on the national railway system. The trains are mostly cargo trains and not passenger trains.

Climate

Likasi has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cwa'').

Notes

External links

Likasi- Jadotville
{{Authority control Populated places in Haut-Katanga Province Cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo