FOREIGN-OWNED MINE POLLUTES KEY RIVER IN ZAMBIA

A huge spillage of mining waste has polluted two key rivers in Zambia - destroying crops and farmers’ livelihoods in the process. It’s reignited debate over the flagrant disregard for safety and environmental regulations by multinational corporations operating in Africa. The breach happened at the Chinese-owned Sino Metals Leach Zambia Ltd. copper mine. Zambia, Africa's second-largest producer of copper, has suffered several environmental disasters caused by foreign mining companies. It’s a double tragedy for local communities, which rarely see the benefits of their mining activities - with most of the revenue ending up in bank accounts abroad. Foreign mining companies are also accused of engaging in widespread tax avoidance schemes. For instance, in 2021, British NGO Oxfam revealed that Anglo-Swiss mining giant Glencore, which operated in Zambia for over two decades, only paid $28 million in taxes from 2011 to 2018, despite raking in revenues of more than $6 billion during that period.

Sources

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-04-chambishi-tailings-failure-a-canary-in-zambias-copperbelt/

https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/2025/02/25/eiz-undertakes-investigation-into-sino-metals-tailing-dam-incident/

https://newsite3.dailynationzambia.com/2025/03/we-are-sorry-sino-metals/

https://newsite3.dailynationzambia.com/2025/03/sino-metals-mining-disaster/

https://taxjusticeafrica.net/resources/blog/zambias-copper-amid-energy-transition-new-dawn-mining-or-repeating-past-mistakes#:~:text=The%20socio%2Deconomic%20cost%20of%20corporate%20tax%20abuse&text=One%20of%20the%20major%20factors,social%20protection%20and%20economic%20diversification.