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Just Off the Great North Road

by Hugh Chare

274 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #08-0019; ISBN 1-4251-6815-9; US$20.49, C$20.49, EUR14.00, £10.58

In 1972 a young mining engineer is offered the opportunity to start a new mine which he takes and has to overcome many obstacles along the way.

About the Book

It is 1972 and James and Katrina Martin set off for a well earned month of vacation from Zambia to South Africa and England. They return to find that James is to be offered an opportunity to start a new mine away from the Zambian Copperbelt, an opportunity that he takes. They travel to the Mtuga operation which is located just off the Great North Road in the Mkushi district of Zambia. The mine is sited on old workings from the 1920's and is being re-opened as a surface mine. The Mkushi District is better known for its tobacco and maize farms and in the late 1970's for the camps of the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), an organization that they will encounter a few times.

Life is complicated when the Rhodesians close the border with Zambia and Zambia retaliates, potentially stranding all their new mining machinery outside the country. They must formulate a plan to get everything to the mine and the operation started on time and to budget. Things are further complicated by corporate politics and rivalries that create problems along the way.

Although now married for almost three years, James and Katrina continue to discover each other and their romance and desire for one another is as strong as ever. They take every opportunity they can to be away and alone together in the more remote parts of Zambia.

About the Author

Hugh Chare left Zambia in 1974 after having worked for two mining operations. He then had a varied career ranging from mining equipment sales to gearbox manufacture, rockets, aerospace composites and specialty chemicals. He now makes his home in Hawaii with his wife and two dogs. He still consults and is working on novels beyond Zambia. Hugh Chare's first book Chaya Four One, introducing James and Katrina Martin, was published in 2006 by Trafford Publishing.