Zambia: Will the Chambishi Spill Affect Zambia’s ‘All-Weather Friendship’ With China?

Sino Metals’ pollution of the Kafue River presents an opportunity to forge a more environmentally sustainable partnership.

When a toxic waste storage facility at a copper processing plant near Chambishi burst on 18 February, about 50 million litres of acidic waste polluted Zambia’s Kafue River, which serves as a lifeline for the country.

The plant operator – Sino Metals Leach Zambia – is a Chinese subsidiary of the state-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group. Much has been written about…