DoomsdaysCW<p>A river ‘died’ overnight in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Zambia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Zambia</span></a> after an acidic waste spill at a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Chinese" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Chinese</span></a>-owned <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/mine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>mine</span></a></p><p>By RICHARD KILLE and JACOB ZIMBA<br>March 15, 2025</p><p>KITWE, Zambia (AP) — "Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that contaminated a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>pollution</span></a> were detected at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream.</p><p>"The spill happened on Feb. 18 when a tailings dam that holds acidic waste from a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CopperMine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CopperMine</span></a> in the north of the country collapsed, according to investigators from the Engineering Institution of Zambia.</p><p>"The collapse allowed some 50 million liters of waste containing concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals to flow into a stream that links to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KafueRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>KafueRiver</span></a>, Zambia’s most important waterway, the engineering institution said.</p><p>"'It is an <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environmental" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>environmental</span></a> disaster really of catastrophic consequences,' said Chilekwa Mumba, an environmental activist who works in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province."</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/mining-pollution-china-zambia-environment-93ee91d1156471aaf9a7ebd6f51333c1" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">apnews.com/article/mining-poll</span><span class="invisible">ution-china-zambia-environment-93ee91d1156471aaf9a7ebd6f51333c1</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RecycleCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RecycleCopper</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CopperMining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CopperMining</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Pollution</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Africa" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Africa</span></a></p>