A catastrophic acid dump from a Chinese -owned copper mine in Zambia has polluted a large river, causing the fear of long -term damage to the environment and possible damage to millions of people.
The dumping, which took place on February 18, sent shockwaves through the Southern African nation.
Investigators from the Zambia engineering institution revealed that the incident stems from the collapse of a culling pond at the mine.
This dam, designed to contain acid waste, has released an estimated 50 million liters of toxic material into a stream that feeds the Kafue River, the main waterway of Zambia.
The waste is a dangerous cocktail of concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals.
The Kafue River, which extends more than 1,500 kilometers through the heart of Zambia, supports a large ecosystem and offers water for millions. The infection has already been detected at least 60 miles downstream of the landfill, which raises serious concerns over the long -term impact on both human populations and wildlife.
Environmental activist Chilekwa Mumba, who works in the Copperbelt Province in Zambia, described the incident as “an environmental disaster really of catastrophic consequences”.
The dumping underlines the risks associated with mining, especially in a region where China has a significant impact on the copper industry.
Zambia is among the world’s top -10 copper producers, a metal that is decisive for producing smartphones and other technologies.
The Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has called on expert help to address the crisis. The full extent of environmental damage is still assessed.
A river is dead overnight
A Associated Press reporter visited parts of the Kafue River, where dead fish could be seen on the banks, about 60 miles downstream of the mine owned by Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, which is owned by state-owned China-not-ferrous metal industry group.
The Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation said that the ‘devastating consequences’ also include the destruction of crops along the banks of the river. Authorities are concerned that groundwater will be polluted as the mining waste is in the earth or transported to other areas.
Sean Cornelius, who lives near the Kafue and said that fish are dead and that bird life near him disappeared almost immediately.
“Now everything is dead, it’s like a totally dead river. Unbelievable. Overnight this river is dead. “
About 60 percent of the 20 million people of Zambia live in the Kafue River Basin and somehow depend on it as a source of fishing, irrigation for agriculture and water for the industry. The river delivers drinking water to about five million people, including in the capital, Lusaka.
The acid leak at the mine caused a complete closure of the water supply to the nearby city of Kitwe, home to an estimated 700,000 people.
Attempts to roll back the damage
The Zambian government has deployed the air force to drop hundreds of tons of lime into the river in an attempt to counteract the acid and return the damage. Speedboats were also used to drive up and down the river and apply lime.
Government’s spokesman, Cornelius Mweetwa, said the situation was very serious and that Sino-metals Leach Zambia would bear the cost of the cleanup operation.
Zhang Peiwen, chairman of Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, met with government meetings this week and apologized for the sour shower, according to a transcript of his speech at the meeting released by his company.
“This disaster has a big alarm for Sino-Metals Leach and the mining industry,” he said.
It “will go everything to recover the environment in question as quickly as possible,” he said.
The environmental impact of China’s major mining interests in mineral rich parts of Africa, which includes the neighbors of Zambia, has often been criticized, even if the mineral is decisive for the countries’ economies.
Chinese copper mines have been accused of ignoring safety, labor and other regulations in Zambia because they strive to control the offer of the critical mineral, leading to some dissatisfaction with their presence.
Zambia was also taxed with more than $ 4 billion in debt to China and had to restructure some of its loans from China and other countries after paying repayment in 2020.
A smaller sour acidic from another Chinese-owned mine in the copper belt of Zambia was discovered days after the Sino metal accident, and the authorities accused the smaller mine of trying to hide it.
Local police said a miner died at the second mine after he fell into acid and claimed that the mine had continued to work after being instructed to stop its operations by the authorities. Two Chinese miners were arrested, police said.
Both mines have now stopped their operations after orders from the Zambian authorities, while many Zambians are angry.
“It really only brings about the negligence that some investors actually have when it comes to protecting the environment,” says Mweeene Himwinga, an environmental engineer who attended the meeting where Mr. Zhang, government ministers and others were involved.
“It seems they are not worried at all. And I think it’s really worrying, because at the end of the day we as Zambian people (it) are the only country we have. “
