 The mine in 2008 | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Nchanga Copper mine Location in Zambia | |
| Location | Chingola |
| Province | Copperbelt Province |
| Country | Zambia |
| Coordinates | 12°31′S 27°51′E / 12.51°S 27.85°E, |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper, cobalt |
| Type | Underground and open-pit |
| Owner | |
| Company | Konkola Copper Mines |
| Website | kcm |
| Local impacts | |
| Pollution | Sulfuric acid and Copper sulfate |
| Impacted | Kafue river |
| Conflict | |
| Contested by | local villagers |
| Lawsuit(s) | domestic lawsuit in 2011, and Lungowe v Vedanta Resources plc in England (2015) |
Nchanga Copper mine, previously the Chingola Copper mine, is an underground and open-pit cobalt and copper mine in Chingola, in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. It is the largest copper mine in Africa. It is owned by the Konkola Copper Mines, a joint venture between Vedanta Resources and the state mining company of Zambia (ZCCM Investments Holdings).
Pollution from the mine contaminated water sources for thousands of nearby villagers who had no other source of water, resulting in health problems. The villagers also reported that the pollution had damaged farmland and reduced crop yields. One thousand eight hundred villagers filed a class-action lawsuit (Lungowe v Vedanta Resources plc) against Vedanta Resources in London in 2015. The case went to the British Supreme Court and had broader implications for British multinational resource extraction companies conducting business abroad.[1]
- ^ Hodal, Kate (2019-01-18). "Zambian villagers await outcome of UK mining firm's pollution case appeal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-14.