Likasi has a population of around 635,000 (2015).[2] During the 1990s the United Nations set up feeding centres and refugee centres in and around Likasi to assist with the refugees fleeing ethnic violence in Shaba,[4] whose arrival had increased the population of the town some 41,000.[5]
History
Open cut mine Shinkolobwe by Likasi in the 1920s, men with wheelbarrows pushing ore while an overseer looks on ("Chalux" 1925).
Interior of a factory in Jadotville, Belgian Congo circa 1942
Likasi remains a centre for industry, especially mining,[9] and is a transport hub for the surrounding region. There are mines and refineries supplied by nearby deposits of copper and cobalt.[10]
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, then the copper-containing solution is taken to the electrolysis room at the Shituru Factories in Likasi, where high-quality copper electrodes are produced.[11]
There is also an abandoned gold mine in Likasi, which has been commercially depleted but is still dug by artisanal miners.[citation needed]
Transport
Likasi is served by a station on the national railway system. The trains are mostly cargo trains and not passenger trains.[citation needed]
^ACC/SCN Secretariat with Shoham, Jeremy (8 December 1993) "Current Situation: 11. Shaba Region, Zaire"Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback MachineRefugee Nutrition Information System (RNIS), No. 2 - Report on the Nutrition Situation of Refugee and Displaced Populations United Nations Administrative Committee on Coordination, Sub-committee on Nutrition, Geneva
^ACC/SCN Secretariat with Shoham, Jeremy (17 October 1994) "Current Situation: 11. Shaba/Kasai Regions, Zaire"Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback MachineRefugee Nutrition Information System (RNIS), No. 7 - Report on the Nutrition Situation of Refugee and Displaced Populations United Nations Administrative Committee on Coordination, Sub-committee on Nutrition, Geneva
