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The Zambian government has been accused of paying little attention to hazardous mining and processing of toxic lead waste in Kabwe, Central Province, posing severe health risks to children, in the latest report by the Human Rights Watch.
In a report released in Lusaka on Wednesday at the Radisson Blu Hotel, HRW stated that these activities compound the long-standing lead contamination in Kabwe, where residents have been exposed to toxic lead for decades due to a former lead and zinc mine.
The 67-page report, “Poisonous Profit: Lead Waste Mining and Children’s Right to a Healthy Environment in Kabwe, Zambia,” documents how the government has issued mining and processing licenses to South African, Chinese, and local businesses while failing to enforce environmental and mining laws.
HRW urged the government to suspend operations and revoke licenses of companies involved in hazardous lead mining, removal, and processing in Kabwe.
The organization also called for a comprehensive programme to remediate the former mine site in consultation with affected communities, civil society, and experts.
“The Zambian government should be protecting people from highly hazardous activities, not enabling them,” said Juliane Kippenberg, Associate Children’s Rights Director at HRW.
She stated that companies are profiting from mining, removing, and processing lead waste at the expense of children’s health.
HRW’s research, including interviews with miners and community members, open-source investigations, and geospatial analysis, revealed widespread non-compliance with environmental safety standards.
HRW reached out to the government and 16 companies for information and received responses from the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, South African firm Jubilee Metals Group, and a local businessman.
Kippenberg emphasized that lead is a highly toxic metal, particularly harmful to children, causing intellectual disabilities, miscarriages, severe illnesses, coma, and even death.
She cited research estimating that over 95 percent of children living near the former mine in Kabwe have elevated blood lead levels, with about half urgently requiring medical treatment.
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The report further revealed that between 2022 and late 2024, businesses conducted or facilitated hazardous mining and processing to extract zinc, lead, and other minerals from contaminated waste.
Companies allegedly removed significant amounts of waste from the mine, leaving open piles across Kabwe, further endangering residents.
Small-scale and artisanal miners have also engaged in lead and zinc extraction within the concession of Enviro Processing Limited (EPL), a subsidiary of Jubilee Metals, which holds a mining license for much of the former Kabwe mine site.
Although the Zambian government has taken some steps to mitigate lead contamination through the World Bank-funded Zambia Mining and Environmental Remediation and Improvement Project, HRW noted that it has failed to clean up the primary source of pollution.
HRW urged authorities to take immediate action to protect public health and enforce environmental regulations.
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