It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the immediate post-independence period, but its economic importance was severely damaged by a crash in global copper prices in 1973.

The main cities and towns of the Copperbelt are Kitwe, Ndola, Mufulira, Luanshya, Chingola, Kalulushi and Chililabombwe.

It is informally referred to at times as 'Copala' or 'Kopala', invoking the vernacular-like term of the mineral copper that is mined in the province.

There is a Deputy Permanent Secretary, heads of government departments and civil servants at the provincial level.

[18] The administrative staff of the council is selected based on Local Government Service Commission from within or outside the district.

Councils are mandated to maintain each of their community centres, zoos, local parks, drainage system, playgrounds, cemeteries, caravan sites, libraries, museums and art galleries.

They also work along with specific government departments for helping in agriculture, conservation of natural resources, postal service, establishing and maintaining hospitals, schools and colleges.

This collision is thought to have remobilised base metals, largely already present in the sediments that had accumulated in the basin between the two cratons.

These brines then concentrated the base metals either along stratigraphic boundaries, or along fractures, faults or within structurally controlled 'traps' (such as the nose of a fold).

The collision also produced crustal shortening, during which the stratigraphic sequence was tectonically pushed northwards on top of the Congo Craton.

The Lufilian Arc is correlated along trend to the west with the Damara Orogen in Namibia, which also hosts large mineral deposits.

Maize was the major crop in the province with 37,610 metric tonnes, constituting 17.56% of the national output.