05/03/2026
❗CSOs Condemn Sino Metals' Resumption Amid Unaddressed Pollution Remediation Plans
The Zambia Environmental Justice Coalition notes with profound concern over the government’s decision to allow Sino-Metals to resume mine operations. This decision, reportedly based on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the tailings dam that collapsed last year, causing pollution in the Kafue River, is premature and deeply worrying. The rationale for the resumption is undermined by a lack of clarity on whether Sino Metals is fully implementing the restoration measures issued by ZEMA this year. Crucially, the public’s concerns regarding the remediation plan and compliance with restoration measures remain unresolved gaps.
We maintain that the resumption of operations is unacceptable given the following critical and unaddressed gaps:
-The Kalusale victims have not yet been evacuated.
-Pollutants are still present at the bottom of the Mwambashi and Kafue Rivers, and the polluted land has not been fully restored.
Compensation and relocation of the victims have not been concluded.
-The restoration of the tailings dam is the barest minimum and an unacceptable sole criterion for Sino Metals to resume operations while these glaring gaps remain, exemplifying regulatory and technical deficiencies.
The update is still unclear on Sino Metals implementing restoration measures recommended in the consultant’s report by the Applied Science and Technology Associates, including the remediation plan, and our concerns still stand unaddressed.
On behalf of the Zambian public, the Zambia Environmental Justice Coalition therefore requests ZEMA to rethink the decision, considering these concerns that come with long-term effects that are irreversible.
The Coalition further draws attention to significant regulatory and technical deficiencies, especially for a Category 5 failure that attracted international scrutiny:
-There is no available evidence to demonstrate that the tailings dam (TD) was operated under the supervision of suitably qualified and accountable technical personnel, as required under Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
-No documented tailings management system is indicated, including the absence of operating procedures, operational records, and logbooks.
-There is no documentation confirming regulatory approval of the dam’s design or construction by either ZEMA or the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development (MSD).
-A repeated assertion in reports that the concentration of heavy metals was of no concern is spurious assurance, as heavy metals progressively accumulate in the body until they reach damaging concentrations, especially for poisonous and carcinogenic elements.
We reiterate our expectation that the government, through the Ministers of Green Economy and Environment, Water Development and Sanitation and Mines and Mineral Development, as a custodian of the public trust, will demonstrate the required transparency, accountability, and decisive action to resolve this matter. We remain committed to constructive engagement, but the full and timely implementation of our demands is the only acceptable path to protect the people and environment of Zambia from this continued pollution.
Zambia Environmental Justice Coalition Mizu Eco-Care Transparency International Zambia Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity Tweende Zambia Zambian Governance Foundation Save Zambezi, Safe Zambezi Conservation Lower Zambezi - CLZ Ministry of Green Economy and Environment - Zambia
