Zambia Seeks Further Compensation from Chinese Mining Firm After Toxic Tailings Spill

Zambian officials said they will press a Chinese-owned mining company for additional compensation if further assessment shows greater harm from a toxic waste spill that began when a tailings dam collapsed in February.

The spill, from the Sino-Metals Leach Zambia copper mine near Kitwe, released highly acidic mine waste into waterways that feed the Kafue River, a key source of drinking and irrigation water for surrounding communities. Sino-Metals, a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group, apologised for the incident and pledged to compensate affected residents; the company initially reported that about 50,000 tonnes of waste had entered local waterways.

Zambia’s vice-president, Mutale Nalumango, said the $580,000 compensation pledged so far was "a step in the right direction" but that payouts must be guided by a "thorough and independent assessment". "If the damage to the land and livelihoods proves to be more extensive or long-lasting than initially understood, then further compensation will be necessary and it will be pursued," she said in a meeting with Sino-Metals officials.

A separate investigation by South Africa-based environmental firm Drizit, which the company said it had contracted, concluded after a two-month probe that 1.5 million tonnes of toxic material were released and that roughly 900,000 cubic metres of tailings remained in the environment. Drizit reported dangerous levels of cyanide and heavy metals including arsenic, copper, zinc, lead, chromium and cadmium, and warned of long-term health risks such as organ damage, birth defects and cancer. Sino-Metals disputed Drizit's findings and said it had terminated the consultancy contract for contractual breaches.

International diplomatic missions have raised alarms about health risks. The Finnish government released a travel advisory noting 24 different heavy metals in water samples from the spill area; 16 exceeded World Health Organization safety thresholds. The US embassy issued a health alert and ordered the immediate withdrawal of its personnel from Kitwe and nearby areas, citing concerns about "widespread contamination of water and soil." Some embassies have warned citizens to avoid the affected zone.

Zambian authorities have taken measures to limit exposure and environmental damage, imposing a fishing ban on the Kafue River and deploying the air force and speedboats to distribute lime in waterways to reduce acidity. Human Rights Watch said the acid pollution had killed fish, scorched maize and groundnut crops, and caused livestock deaths, erasing livelihoods for many local farmers. HRW also reported that community members complained of headaches, coughing, diarrhoea and other health problems following the spill, and that some residents said they had not received promised compensation.

The Zambian government has at times downplayed the scale of public health implications. Officials said there were no longer significant health threats in some statements, while emphasising the non-negotiable nature of citizens' safety and the need for independent verification of environmental and health impacts.

Sino-Metals’ parent, China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group, is state-owned. The episode underscores the environmental and social risks tied to Zambia’s mining sector; the country ranks among the world’s top 10 copper producers and relies heavily on mining revenue.

Zambia’s insistence on further assessment and potential additional compensation could raise questions about liability, remediation responsibilities and the adequacy of company-led investigations in mining disasters. Government officials, civil society groups and international observers are likely to scrutinise forthcoming independent assessments to determine the scale of long-term environmental cleanup, health monitoring needs and the level of compensation required for affected communities.

Additional reporting on the incident and its aftermath is ongoing as independent tests and government-led assessments proceed.