Collapse in Chambishi - tailings failure is a canary in Zambia’s copperbelt
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On Tuesday, 18 February a catastrophic failure occurred at Sino Metals' tailings dam in Chambishi, Zambia, releasing more than 50 million litres of acidic effluent into the Mwambashi River.
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Chambishi's TSF failure has roots in the troubled history of waste management in the Copperbelt, including the old Musakashi Tailings Facility, which is part of the larger Chambishi waste complex.
A 2014 auditor-general report identified systemic mismanagement at multiple Copperbelt tailings facilities, including illegal artisanal mining at hazardous sites, uncontrolled effluent leaks, lack of signage and weak regulatory enforcement by the Zambian Environmental Management Agency (Zema).
Despite these warnings, Sino Metals built a new TSF in 2019 to accommodate increased production at Chambishi Leach Plant.
Instead of building entirely new and properly engineered infrastructure, Sino Metals followed the well-worn path taken by its sister company, NFCA Africa Mining, years earlier, and simply raised the wall of the old Musakashi dam to increase its capacity.
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