Sino Metals habitual polluter – Chambishi residents
By Mast Reporter
SOME farmers and residents of Chambishi who were affected by the pollution caused by the collapse of a tailings dam at Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited have revealed that it is not the first time that the Chinese mining firm has released toxic acidic effluent into the water bodies.
They told the Mast in an interview that the pollution was not new and that it only attracted the attention of the government this time around when the acid reached the Kafue River.
They said that most leaders in the Province, the mine itself and the Zambia Environmental Management Authority (ZEMA) are have been aware of the problem.
On February 18, 2025, tragedy struck when Tailings Dam 15F at Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited collapsed, releasing over 50 million litres of highly acidic leach residue into the Mwambashi and Kafue rivers.
The disaster has caused unprecedented contamination, with pH levels between 1.8 and 3.5, endangering human lives, aquatic ecosystems, and livestock that depend on these water sources.
“We have tried to seek audience with mine management but to no avail, as the managers drive off the mine premises whenever they see us.
“We have been using polluted water for bathing, washing for years and go to Chitupa, the nearby village to fetch drinking water. Just look at how out skin looks like and if you think we are lying, look at the colour of this waste and try to taste it and compare it with water from other rivers,” representative of the affected who opted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
The residents also complained that their animals have for years been dying after drinking from the nearby streams that they alleged have always been polluted.
They also disputed that the affected farmers are about 300 as reported by the authorities but that they are over 2,500 in number.
They said no government official ever visited them from the time of the latest occurrence.
“We have been reading and hearing in the media that the mine provides sachets of water to drink and a bowser as well as food items, but we can confirm that we have not seen anything of the sort here, maybe they go to a different area,” they said.
The farmers also disclosed that ZEMA had made it a tradition to collect samples in area without availing the results to them.
This, they said, had left them to speculate that they had been receiving bribes from the firm not to reveal that the water and soil was not fit for consumption
But Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited says it is not capable of bribing any institution, department or individual to cover-up anything.
Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited Tailings Leach Plant manager Simon Kapeya said that the firm has nothing to hide because what happened was unintentional.
Mr Kapeya said the pollution was happening for the first time and that the firm had engaged independent institutions to investigate the matter without any interference.
He said this would enable those affected by the pollution to get the best help and to advise the mining company on how to avoid similar accidents in future.
Mr Kapeya reiterated that the firm regretted and apologized for what happened adding that management was open for discussions with the affected persons on how they could help each other as it embarked on restoring what has been lost.
