Mine waste seen in the Mwambashi River, a tributary of the Kafue River, after a tailing dam breach at a Chinese-owned mine near Kitwe, Zambia. — AP
AUTHORITIES and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a mine that has contaminated a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of pollution were detected at least 100km downstream.
The spill happened on Feb 18 when a tailings dam that holds acidic waste from a copper mine in the north of the country collapsed, according to investigators from the Engineering Institution of Zambia.
The collapse allowed some 50 million litres of waste containing concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals to flow into a stream that links to the Kafue River, Zambia’s most important waterway, the engineering institution said.
“It is an environmental disaster with catastrophic consequences,” said Chilekwa Mumba, an environmental activist who works in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province.
Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema called for help from experts and said the leak is a crisis that threatens people and wildlife along the Kafue, which runs for more than 1,500km through the heart of Zambia.
Authorities are still investigating the extent of the environmental damage.
At parts of the Kafue River, dead fish could be seen washing up on the banks about 100km downstream from the mine run by Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, which is majority owned by the state-run China Nonferrous Metals Industry Group.
China is the dominant player in copper mining in Zambia, a southern African nation which is among the world’s top 10 producers of copper, a key component in smartphones and other technology.
Dead fish floating in the Kafue River near the town of Luanshya, Zambia. — AP
‘Overnight, this river died’
Zambia’s Water Development and Sanitation Ministry said the “devastating consequences” of the acid spill also include the destruction of crops along the river’s banks.
Authorities are concerned that ground water will be contaminated as the mining waste seeps into the earth or is carried to other areas.
“Prior to Feb 18, this was a vibrant and alive river,” said Sean Cornelius, who lives near the Kafue.
He said fish died and birdlife near him disappeared almost immediately.
“Now everything is dead, it’s like a totally dead river. Unbelievable. Overnight, this river died,” he said.
About 60% of Zambia’s 20 million people live in the Kafue River basin and depend on it in some way as a source of fishing, irrigation for agriculture and water for industry. The river supplies drinking water to about five million people, including in the capital, Lusaka.
The acid leak at the mine caused a complete shutdown of the water supply to the nearby city of Kitwe, home to about 700,000 people.
The Zambian government has deployed the air force to drop hundreds of tonnes of lime into the river in an attempt to counteract the acid and roll back the damage.
Speedboats have also been used to ride up and down the river, applying lime.
Government spokesman Cornelius Mweetwa said the situation is very serious and Sino-Metals Leach Zambia would bear the costs of the clean-up operation.
Zhang Peiwen, the chairman of Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, met with government ministers recently and apologised for the acid spill, according to a transcript of his speech at the meeting released by his company.
“This disaster has rung a big alarm for Sino-Metals Leach and the mining industry,” he said, adding that the company would go all out to restore the affected environment as quickly as possible.
Environmental concerns
The environmental impact of China’s large mining interests in mineral-rich parts of Africa, which include Zambia’s neighbours Congo and Zimbabwe, has often been criticised, even as the minerals are crucial to the countries’ economies.
Chinese-owned copper mines have been accused of ignoring safety, labour and other regulations in Zambia as they strive to control its supply of the critical mineral, leading to some discontent with their presence.
Zambia is also burdened with more than US$4bil (RM17.8bil) in debt to Beijing and had to restructure some of its loans from China and other nations after defaulting on repayments in 2020.
A smaller acid waste leak from another Chinese-owned mine in Zambia’s copper belt was discovered days after the Sino-Metals accident and authorities have accused the smaller mine of attempting to hide it.
Local police said a mine worker died at that second mine after falling into acid and alleged that the mine continued to operate after being instructed to stop its operations by authorities. Two Chinese mine managers have been arrested, police said.
Both mines have now halted their operations after orders from Zambian authorities, while many Zambians are angry.
“It really just brings out the negligence that some investors actually have when it comes to environmental protection,” said Mweene Himwinga, an environmental engineer who attended the meeting involving Zhang, government ministers and others.
“They don’t seem to have any concern at all, any regard at all. And I think it’s really worrying because at the end of the day, we as Zambian people, (it’s) the only land we have,” he said. — AP
