Zambia Jitwe (AP) – Zambia authorities and environmentalists worry about the long-term effects of the sour spillage on the Chinese-owned mine, which pollutes a major river and may affect millions of people after signs of pollution of at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream.
Investigators from the Zambian Engineering Agency said the leak occurred on February 18 when a tailings dam with acidic waste collapsed in copper mines in the northern part of the country collapsed.
The collapse caused about 50 million liters of waste containing concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals to flow into the stream connected to the Kafue River, Zambia's most important waterway, the engineering agency said.
“It is indeed an environmental disaster with disastrous consequences,” said Chilekwa Mumba, an environmentalist working in the Copper Belt province of Zambia.
China is a major player in Zambia's copper mining, a southern African country that is a key component of copper and other technologies and is one of the top ten copper producers in the world.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema called on experts to seek help and said the leak was a crisis that threatened Kafue's people and wildlife, traveling more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) along the heart of Zambia's heart.
Authorities are still investigating the extent of environmental damage.
A river died overnight
An Associated Press reporter visited part of the Kafu River, where dead fish can be seen washing down on the banks of the river about 100 kilometers (60 miles), the mine run by China's mining company Leach Zambia, the majority owned by state-owned China's non-producing metal industry group.
The Ministry of Water Development and Health said the “destructive consequences” also include the destruction of crops along the river. Authorities are concerned that groundwater will be contaminated as mining waste penetrates into the earth or is taken to other areas.
“It was a vibrant and alive river until February 18,” Sean Cornelius said. “Now everything is dead, like a river that is completely dead.” incredible. Overnight, the river died. ”
About 60% of Zambia's 20 million people live in the Kafu River Basin and somehow rely on it as a source of fishing, agricultural irrigation and industrial water irrigation. The river provides drinking water to about 5 million people, including the capital Lusaka.
The mine’s acid leak caused the water supply in the nearby Kitwe city to be completely shut down, with an estimated 700,000 people.
Trying to go backwards damage
The Zambian government deployed the air force to throw hundreds of tons of lime into the river in an attempt to offset the acid and mitigate the damage. Fast boats were also used to travel up and down the river, coated with lime.
Government spokesman Cornelius Mweetwa said the situation was very serious and China Metal Sebia would bear the cost of the cleaning operation.
According to a transcript of his company's speech at the meeting, Zhang Payne, chairman of China Metals, met with government ministers this week and apologized for the acidic leak.
“This disaster has caused a great alarm for the metal leaching and mining industry,” he said, “and will do our best to restore the affected environment.”
Dissatisfaction with China
The environmental impact of China's huge mining interest in mineral-rich regions in Africa, including Zambia's neighbors Congo and Zimbabwe, is also frequently criticized, even if minerals are crucial to the national economy.
China-owned copper mines are accused of ignoring Zambia's security, labor and other regulations as they work to control the supply of their critical minerals, resulting in some dissatisfaction with their presence. Zambia also bears more than $4 billion in Chinese debt and must restructure some of its loans from China and other countries after defaulting on repayments in 2020.
A few days after the Chinese metal accident, a smaller acid waste leak was discovered in another Chinese mine in the Zambian copper belt, and authorities accused the smaller mine of trying to hide it.
Local police said a miner died at the second mine after pouring acid and claimed the mine continued to operate after being directed by authorities to stop its operations. Police said two Chinese mining managers have been arrested.
Both mines ceased to operate under the orders of the Zambian authorities, while many Zambians were angry.
“This does raise some investors’ negligence in environmental protection,” said Mewine Himwinga, who attended a meeting involving Zhang, government ministers and others. “They don't seem to pay any attention at all, any consideration. I think it's really worrying because at the end of the day, we as Zambian people are the only land we own.”
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Zimba reported from Lusaka, Zambia.
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