DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

India to send industry delegation for copper mining opportunities in Zambia. The Mines Ministry has proposed sending an Indian industry delegation to copper-rich Zambia to discuss potential copper exploration and mining projects in the southern African country.

China Nonferrous Mining Corporation (CNMC) is among the largest producers of copper in Zambia.

Copper

• Copper is a good conductor of electricity and is ductile.

Alloys - Alloyed with iron and nickel to make stainless steel.

• • Alloyed with nickel to make ‘morel metal’.
  • Alloyed with aluminium to make ‘duralumin’.
  • Alloyed with zinc it is known as ‘brass’ and with tin as ‘bronze’.
• Copper is widely used in sectors like construction, consumer durables, transportation, and industrial manufacturing.
• It is also used in clean energy technologies including solar panels, EVs, and energy efficient motors.

Reserves in India - 46 million tones; Rajasthan (50%); Madhya Pradesh (24%); Jharkhand (19%); 7% in AP, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka etc.

As per International Copper Association India, domestic copper demand grew by 16% in FY2022-2023, while demand for copper in clean energy technologies grew by 32%.

Reserves across globe - Chile has the world's largest copper reserves of any country by far, with 190 million metric tons as of 2022.

• It is also the world's largest copper producer, having produced some 5.2 million metric tons of copper from mines in 2022.

Zambia

• It got its name from the Zambezi River.
• The country is located in southern Africa.
• Zambia is a landlocked country of rugged terrain and diverse wildlife, with many parks and safari areas.
• On its border with Zimbabwe is the famed Victoria Falls, plunging into the narrow Batoka Gorge.

Zambia has about 6 per cent of the world’s copper reserves and was the eighth-largest producer of copper in 2022.

In a fishing village of Andhra Pradesh, the practice of social boycott among the Vaddi community has adverse social and economic consequences.

• Veli is the practice of social boycott.

• Those subjected to social ostracisation are not allowed to speak to other villagers and in some cases, compelled to abandon their homes and seek refuge elsewhere.
• Many times, the veli is motivated by politics, caste, or economics.
• An informal grama peddalu (village elders), also called a kula (caste) panchayat, of six or seven members nominated for a year by the community (they are never re-installed), takes a call on veli.

The age-old practice of veli has been followed to maintain social order within the community.

• The grama peddalu may also enforce tappu (wrong), a monetary penalty against ‘wrongdoers’.
• In a parallel government, they may impose both or just one, depending on how severe they feel the ‘wrongdoing’ is.
• The pedda (elder) Vaddi heads this informal panchayat that decides on several matters that the community considers important socially and economically, including marriage and extra-marital affairs.

• Pinanga subterranea is a species of palm tree native to Borneo.
• It's the 1^st known species of palm to flower and fruit almost exclusively underground.

This rare phenomenon has only been recorded in one other plant group, the orchid Rhizanthella.

• The Peregrine Lunar Lander, also known as Peregrine Mission One, is a lunar lander built by Astrobotic Technology, U.S.

It was launched recently carrying payloads for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared January 24 as the International Day of Education in 2018.
• The day celebrates the role of education in peace and development and aims to raise awareness of the value and impact of quality education.

In 2024, UNESCO is focusing on promoting anti-racist guidelines and addressing racism in textbooks with the theme - ‘learning for lasting peace’.

• The Supreme Court ruled that the concentration of a religious community in a particular area is not a valid reason to deny permission to another religious community to hold events or prayer meetings.

The court also ruled that religious processions cannot be rejected based on religious grounds.