Although few in number, the multinational mining companies that are earningbillion-dollar profits in Zambia have had a massive impact on its environmentand people. On the bright side, the copper mining industry records the country’slargest export earnings and has generated more than 90,000 jobs forZambians today.
For almost 100 years, Zambia has been highly dependent on copper andthe mining industry, and the country is living proof that progress leaves itsmark on both the environment and people’s health.Land degradation. Increased deforestation. Water and air pollution fromparticles of sulphuric acid, which severely affect those residing near mines.These are some of the main concerns of The Environmental Council of Zambia.
‘People can’t live here’
In August 2015, 1,800 local residents from Shimulala and nearby villages inZambia sued the mining giant Vedanta Resources and their subsidiary KCM,claiming that copper extraction from the Konkola mine – the largest coppermine in Africa – is polluting the local waterways and causing catastrophicdamage to their health and livelihoods.
According to a leaked confidential internal report commissioned from Canadianpollution control experts, Vedanta Resources’ giant mine in Zambia’sCopperbelt region has been spilling sulphuric acid and other toxic chemicalsinto the rivers, streams and underground aquifers used for drinking waternear the mining town of Chingola.
“It is not possible to live in this area any longer,” said one resident, LeoMoulenga, in an interview with The Guardian in August 2015.
“The ground is contaminated, our crop yield has dropped. In the futurewe don’t think people will be able to live here. It is becoming uninhabitable.”
According to the Blacksmith Institute, an American environmental researchcentre that monitors Chingola province, 93,000 tons of industrial waste areproduced in the area every year, most of which is dumped in the Kafue River.The Blacksmith Institute’s investigations have concluded that the primarypolluter is the Konkola copper mine, and the consequences are dire: Thepollution constitutes a direct and imminent health risk for both human andanimal life, and could lead to outbreaks of cholera if not halted. Allegationsof environmental and human rights violations are not unusual in the Zambian
mining industry.
Health risk for humans
In 2008, a malfunctioning pump at the Mopani mine led to acidic residue pollutingthe nearby water network that services the surrounding communitieswith drinking water. Local clinics registered over 1,000 residents affected bythe spill, who complained of abdominal pains, diarrhoea and vomiting. Whilethe owners, mining companies Glencore and First Quantum, maintainedthat this was a tragic accident, critics claimed that the companies were neglectingtheir environmental responsibility.
The government legally charged and fined a mine manager and threeother employees at Mopani Copper Mines for the pollution of the Mufulirawater system, saying the company polluted the water supply system for 800residents in the small mining city of Mufulira.At that time, mines and mineral development minister Kalombo Mwansabegan reviewing legislation to attach stiffer penalties to violations by companiesand officials, according to Business and Human Rights.
It’s in the air and water
The mining industry uses sulphuric acid in the extraction and treatment ofcopper. The extraction processes are called heap and situ leaching; duringthese processes, particles react with each other to create acidic mists thatnot only harm people’s skin, eyes and lungs, but also destroy crops, deterioratethe quality of the land, and damage nearby buildings. The acid dustboth smells and tastes bad.
“We took a sample of the water, which was cloudy and had a foul smell.A few minutes later the colour of the water turned bright orange, and thesmell was overpowering,” a BBC journalist, Nomsa Maseko, recently reportedfrom Hippo Pool village by the Kafue River.Several epidemiological studies have suggested a correlation betweenexposure to inorganic acid mists containing sulphuric acid and an increasedincidence of laryngeal cancer. The International Agency for Research onCancer (IARC) has concluded that ”occupational exposure to strong inorganicmists containing sulphuric acid is carcinogenic for humans.”
Nevertheless, sulphuric acid is still used with little concern for the peopleaffected through air and water pollution, and the environment and animallife continue to be severely affected by copper extraction in Zambia.
