DERRICK SILIMINA, Lusaka
ZAMBIA has a long history of mining and a large known resource base of copper, gold, and emeralds, among other deposits.
With Zambia’s vast potential for further discoveries, environmental impacts from mining operations in the country are significant and quite often severe.
Mining and mineral processing by its very nature comes with environmental costs and the effects can continue long after the mining operation has stopped.
Environmental experts say impacts from mining results from both historical and ongoing mining operations as the main conservational challenges associated with mines are pollution of air, soil and water, geotechnical issues and land degradation.
Arguably, most of the mines’ environmental hazards that have continued happening at some mining companies bring to the fore the safety of Zambian mineworkers and communities and the effectiveness of the country’s mine safety laws.
Economically, the sector is a substantial source of government revenue and formal employment, both directly and indirectly; but environmental and occupational safety challenges have continued to emerge.
Given the country’s endowment of natural resources, an array of stakeholders in Zambia, including investors, government agencies, and civil society organizations, have long questioned some mine operators’ poor safety records.
MINE NEGLIGENCE
A 2014 Geological Survey of Sweden on Environmental Impacts of Mining in Zambia dubbed Towards Better Environmental Management and Sustainable Exploitation of Mineral Resources states that environmental issues directly linked to historical mining operations on the Copperbelt are largely related to geotechnical integrity of waste dumps.
The survey unearthed at least 21 waste rock dumps covering more than 388 hectares, nine slag dumps, covering 279 hectares, and finally more than 45 tailing dams covering an area of around 9,125 hectares.
In total, the study found that more than 10,000 hectares on the Copperbelt are covered with mineral waste and thus represents a “loss of opportunity” for the local population in terms of other land use such as agriculture, forestry, housing, and ranching.
In addition to the geotechnical risks associated with waste dumps, the use of tailing ponds for water supply and fishing, as well as growing crops on the tailing surface, has the potential to cause health impacts to the surrounding environment and beyond.
However, some critics have alleged that mine pollution and safety issues are due to negligence on the part of mine owners to invest in safety and adhere to health standards. Others blame it on the absence of a national safety policy and a safety enforcement body to ensure the lives of mineworkers and surrounding communities are safeguarded.
“I wish to call on operators in the mining and quarrying industry to ensure that they conduct their operations in an environmentally friendly manner and in ways that guarantee safety and healthier lives for current and future generations,” Mines and Minerals Development Minister Richard Musukwa said recently when he officiated at the Zambia Chamber of Mines fifth National Conference on Occupational Safety, Health and Environment in Ndola.
LESSONS LEARNT
With scary lessons learned from the closed Kabwe zinc/lead mine still fresh, it is indeed high time operators in the mining and quarrying industry ensured that they conducted their operations in an environmentally friendly manner and in ways that guarantee the safety and healthier lives for current and future generations.
Mr. Musukwa noted that the interests of posterity must be taken into account now rather than later and urged mining companies to comply with all environmental regulations and standards in the country.
“Our quest to develop should not, in any way, burden our communities and future generations,” he stated.
Recently, the Government secured funds from the World Bank to a tune of US$25 million to implement the Zambia Mining Environmental Remediation and Improvement Project (ZMERIP). The aim of the project is to reduce environmental health risks associated with past mining activities not only in Kabwe but in other selected mining areas as well.
In line with the global goal of ending the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic by 2030, Government, with help from the World Bank and NEPAD, have also joined hands with other countries in the region in a project called Southern Africa Tuberculosis Health Support System (SATBHSS) to contribute to the elimination of TB in Zambia and the sub-region.
The project’s development objectives are to improve coverage and quality of TB control and occupational lung disease services in targeted mining geographical areas of Zambia and to strengthen national and regional capacity to manage the burden of TB and occupational diseases.
MINE INTERVENTIONS
Reflecting on the theme of the just-ended Fifth National Conference on Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Protection dubbed Enhancing Health, Safety and Environment Synergies to Combat Adverse Effects, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) observed that it is of utmost importance that every mine operator, regardless of the size, places the protection of persons and the environment above the drive for profits.
FQM Zambia country manager Kingsley Chinkuli affirmed that the mining industry world over is a hazardous place to work in and, as a result, communities continue to fight the creation of new mines on the perception that mining activities damage the environment and disturb nature, despite economic gains from these developments.
“Therefore, we must pay tribute to our investors for investing heavily in people and technology to continually make the industry a safe working place and green. We must all appreciate that occupational health, safety, and environmental protection are the three sides of the triangle which describe a firm foundation for safe working conditions and protection, as well as the preservation of our natural environment,” Gen Chinkuli stated.
It is for this reason that the high standard of performance of FQM management and employees in this area define its corporate reputation as a safe and environmentally friendly company.
“We are a visible felt leadership (VFL) company and we preach a message of safety to our employees and challenge them to ‘stop and think’ when making decisions or taking actions that may compromise occupational health, safety and the environmental protection. At FQM, we protect the rivers (open or subterranean), fauna and flora jealously in our areas of operations, despite their size, impacting minimum damage to nature,” he added.
LUBAMBE
For Lubambe Copper Mine, issues of occupational health and safety among its workforce are of major concern as communications manager Loyce Saili explained that when EMR took over, their focus had been to increase production and prioritize safety measures.
“We want to increase production, but we also want to carry out operations in a safe environment. So, much as we are ramping up, we want to do it in a safe environment,” she said.
Ms Saili further highlighted that in 2018, production was around 22,000 tonnes of copper and that the mine was ramping up to produce about 40,000 tonnes by 2021.
“Everything that we are doing is aimed at increasing production, to increase the profitability of the mine and make the operations profitable. But to do all this, we need to do it safely. Our people must come to work in a safe environment and go back home safe,” she added.
“We have a lot of management commitment and money has been invested in the 2019 financial year in excess of US$1 million in order to ensure that the mine is safe; and this includes the purchase of emergency equipment and re-training of people as well as inculcating in every employee a culture of taking responsibility for their own safety,” Lubambe Copper Mine safety, health, and environmental manager Daniel Chihili said in an interview.
On the other hand, Barrick Lumwana Mining Company safety superintendent Christopher Haboombe noted that family members of mine operators play a critical role to realize safety, environmental health and avoid fatigue among employees.
“Our Barrick motto on safety is ‘Every person going home safe and healthy every day’, but to achieve that you need to work with the family. And for us, that is synergies by working with families,” he noted.
It is said that in sharing, one does not need to re-invent the wheel as coming together gives stakeholders an opportunity to learn, for free, the best practices of enhancing safety and environmental health of their mine operations, so was the just-ended fifth National Conference on Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment, courtesy of the Zambia Chamber of Mines.
It is therefore envisaged that investment in mines’ safety departments is enhanced to avoid environmental hazards on-site and beyond, in order to ensure that Zambia’s most lucrative industry is safe for all.
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