Ratland China Pushes to Silence Victims of African Mining Disaster
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The U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, said the size of the spill made it the sixth-worst mine-tailings dam accident ever, by volume. Toxic sludge flowed into the Kafue River, leaving dead fish along a 70-mile stretch and poisoning farm fields.
Dozens of students at Copperbelt University in Kitwe were hospitalized after drinking contaminated water in February and March, according to a student group. The university closed for two weeks in February, citing the risk that contaminated water posed to students.
In an internal embassy email reviewed by the Journal, U.S. Ambassador Michael Gonzales wrote: “One organization that analyzed over 170 water and soil samples from this disaster report that they have never encountered a polluter that has demonstrated such a lack of remorse or accountability as Sino Metals.”
Gonzales ordered American personnel out of the city of Kitwe. He told his staff that the U.S. had offered cleanup assistance, but Zambian authorities declined.
Sino Metals said 50,000 metric tons of waste had reached the river. The company deployed boats and enlisted the Zambia Air Force to dump hundreds of tons of lime into the valley in an attempt to neutralize the contamination.
After months of investigation, Drizit Environmental, a South African firm contracted by Sino Metals, concluded that 1.5 million tons of toxic waste had overflowed into the Kafue valley, 30 times what the company had said. Sino Metals terminated the firm’s contract a day before the final report was due, Drizit said in a written statement.
A Sino Metals spokesman said the company ended Drizit’s contract due to “contractual breaches.” He provided no details.
Elisha Matambo, the top government official in Copperbelt Province, announced in July that farmers would be entitled to compensation for the period they won’t be able to plant.
Sino Metals has promised to pay a total of $650,000 to tens of thousands of farmers and fishermen affected by the spill. Local environment activists said Sino Metals officials have offered as little as $100 to some people. To receive payment, locals have to agree to waive the right to make future claims, according to an agreement reviewed by the Journal.
Pressure campaign
In August, Chinese mine officials, accompanied by Zambian government officials, went door-to-door in the village of Sabina, near a tributary of the Kafue River, residents recalled in interviews.
Among those they visited was Timmy Kabindela, 42, whose family has four fish ponds and gardens of cabbage and corn on 50 acres of land. Before the spill, the family business had sold about $900 of fish a week to restaurants in the town of Chambishi.
Kabindela, who manages the family property, first sensed something was amiss on the day of the disaster when he heard a military helicopter circling the neighborhood. He discovered tens of thousands of dead tilapia floating in his ponds.
Weeks later, he said, he drove to the Sino Metals offices at the mine, where he was promised a cash settlement of $700, free drinking water for three months and several tons of lime to neutralize the polluted pond water. After learning about the other terms of the proposed agreement, he cut the meeting short and drove 240 miles to Lusaka to consult his lawyers.
The following day, he said, the Chinese returned—this time accompanied by police—and put the contract in front of his 80-year-old mother, who signed it. “She had no idea what she was signing,” he said. “I am determined to fight these Chinese in court. They are tricksters.”
Kabindela and dozens of others retained a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against Sino Metals, seeking some $200 million in compensation and environmental restoration.
In a statement last month, China Nonferrous Mining, Sino’s parent, said it would fight the suit, calling the claim “clearly unfounded.”
Zambia’s mines ministry said company payouts are a first step while the government studies the full extent of the damage. Final compensation levels and the scope of a cleanup will be guided by an independent assessment, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Sino Metals bulldozers have been leveling ground and removing dried tailings from riverbanks and gardens, which could make such an investigation more difficult. Next to the ruptured dam, another earthen wall is being built in preparation for the resumption of mining operations, according to government officials.
“The Chinese are just putting up a show,” said Samuel Sekanya, a local council member in Chambishi, the mine’s home municipality. “They’re deceiving people into signing documents they can’t comprehend. They don’t care about the plight of the victims.”
Local municipal officials and environmental groups said Sino Metals has hired a security unit that has tried to keep local people from talking to the news media or environmental activists
In Kalusale, the village near the failed dam, the police warned residents last month not to speak to journalists or share pictures of the damage, according to residents.
Weeks earlier, a company drone had spotted environmental-group activists speaking to residents, according to two former Sino Metals workers. Police rushed to the scene and arrested several activists, including 25-year-old Sakani Sarah, who was charged with being idle and disorderly. She was detained overnight and paid a $10 fine before being released, according to police documents.
Activists said police have arrested more than a dozen activists and reporters near the mine site over the past three months.
Ponde Chulu, who lives in Kalusale and is a plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking against Sino Metals, said he has gone into hiding to avoid arrest. Chulu, 42, said his wife and six children have been in and out of the hospital over the past six months with skin rashes and sore throats.
“I am already a victim of pollution,” he said. “But I also have to stay in hiding to avoid the police.”
Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@wsj.com
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