Mining boom shouldn’t come at toxic price
By Dr Catharine Mulaisho
ZAMBIA stands at a defining moment in its economic history. The renewed global appetite for copper and critical minerals presents the country with a rare opportunity to secure long term growth, fiscal stability, and strategic relevance in the global energy transition.
Yet this opportunity comes with a clear warning. A mining boom that is pursued recklessly, without firm environmental discipline and social accountability, risks inflicting irreversible damage on communities, ecosystems, and public trust.
Copper is not merely another export commodity for Zambia. It is the backbone of the national economy, the anchor of public revenue, and a critical driver of employment and infrastructure development.
Government ambitions to expand production and attract large scale investment are therefore justified and necessary. However, economic ambition must never be mistaken for a licence to pollute, exploit, or abandon basic environmental responsibility.
The uncomfortable truth is that Zambia’s mining resurgence is occurring alongside mounting evidence of environmental negligence by certain operators.
This reality cannot be dismissed as exaggeration or foreign sensationalism. Incidents of water contamination, soil degradation, and unsafe waste disposal are documented, visible, and borne most heavily by ordinary citizens living near mining sites. Irresponsible mining should not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Recent events on the Copperbelt have exposed the cost of regulatory complacency. The collapse of a tailings dam near Kitwe and the subsequent pollution of the Kafue River system served as a national warning.
Communities lost access to clean water. Aquatic life was wiped out. Farmers suffered crop damage. These are not abstract environmental concerns. They are direct assaults on livelihoods, food security, and public health.
The Kafue River is not an expendable resource. It sustains millions of Zambians and supports agriculture, industry, and domestic life across vast parts of the country.
Any mining activity that compromises its integrity undermines national development itself. To treat such damage as an unfortunate side effect of economic progress is to accept a deeply flawed development model.
That said, it would be intellectually dishonest and economically reckless to paint the entire mining sector with a single brush of irresponsibility. Not all mining companies operate with disregard for environmental and social standards.
Some have invested in modern technologies, strong safety systems, and meaningful community engagement. These operators demonstrate that responsible mining is possible and profitable.
The problem, therefore, is not mining. The problem is irresponsible mining, weak enforcement, and a tolerance for regulatory shortcuts driven by desperation for quick gains. Zambia must decisively separate compliant operators from reckless ones and act accordingly.
Strong regulation must move from paper to practice. Environmental Impact Assessments must be rigorous, transparent, and enforced without exception. Monitoring of tailings facilities, effluent discharge, and emissions must be continuous and independent.
When violations occur, penalties must be swift, severe, and public. Anything less sends a message that environmental destruction is negotiable.
Accountability must also extend beyond fines. Companies that cause environmental harm must bear full responsibility for remediation and compensation. The burden must never fall on affected communities or the taxpayer.
Mining licences should not be shields against liability but contracts that bind investors to strict environmental and social obligations.
Community participation is equally critical. Local populations are not obstacles to development. They are stakeholders with legitimate rights to clean water, safe land, and transparent decision making.
Mining projects that exclude communities from consultation and oversight are breeding grounds for conflict and long term instability.
Transparency must become non negotiable. Environmental data, compliance reports, and incident disclosures should be publicly accessible.
Civil society, scientists, and the media must be empowered to scrutinise mining operations without intimidation or obstruction. A sector that fears scrutiny is a sector hiding something.
Some will argue that imposing strict environmental standards risks discouraging investment. That argument is outdated and intellectually lazy. Global capital increasingly favours jurisdictions with clear rules, predictable enforcement, and social stability.
Responsible investors are not frightened by regulation. They are repelled by chaos, secrecy, and reputational risk.
Zambia’s ambition to increase copper output is legitimate. Its aspiration to position itself as a key supplier in the global energy transition is strategically sound.
But these goals must be pursued within a framework that values human life, environmental protection, and intergenerational equity.
The bottom line is clear. Zambia will have a mining boom, but not at any cost. Economic growth cannot be purchased with poisoned rivers, degraded land, and abandoned communities.
Development that destroys its own foundations is not progress. It is failure disguised as success.
Zambia has a choice to make. It can either repeat the mistakes of extractive economies that sacrificed their people and environment for short term gains, or it can chart a disciplined path that proves mining wealth and environmental responsibility are not mutually exclusive.
A mining boom that respects the law, protects communities, and preserves Zambia’s natural resources is not a fantasy.
It is already being demonstrated by responsible operators within the country. For that reason, it is both inaccurate and unfair to paint all mining companies with the same brush of irresponsibility.
Zambia must be firm against negligent operators while recognising those that comply with environmental and social standards. The narrative that a mining boom must inevitably come with environmental degradation is false and must be rejected.
Mining can and must happen with strong environmental responsibility. Zambia will pursue growth, but not at the expense of its people, its rivers, or its future.
