{"id":98169,"date":"2025-02-19T21:57:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T21:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/activist\/copper-colonialism-is-wrecking-zambias-farmlands-and-waterways\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T21:57:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T21:57:00","slug":"copper-colonialism-is-wrecking-zambias-farmlands-and-waterways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=98169","title":{"rendered":"Copper Colonialism Is Wrecking Zambia\u2019s Farmlands and Waterways"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div id=\"article-title-block_282393f7f7b3596822958e3b94a6b1a3\" class=\"article-title \">\n<div class=\"article-title__container\">\n<p>\n                                                            <span class=\"article-title__date\">October 17, 2024<\/span>\n                                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>Zambia is just one of several nations experiencing a new type of colonialism, this time with a green capitalist veneer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad-block ad siderail-ad float-r-w-3 break-r-4\">\n<p>                                    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/advertising-policy\" class=\"ad-policy\" target=\"_blank\">Ad Policy<\/a><br \/>\n                                    <\/aside>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"907\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374.jpg\" alt=\"zambia drought\" class=\"wp-image-413456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1200189374-793x500.jpg 793w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Volunteers help distribute meal bags in Zambia during a severe drought. <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"credits\">(Guillem Sartorio \/ AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-editors-note\">\n<p>This article originally appeared at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomdispatch.com\/\">TomDispatch.com<\/a>. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/lsFRj\">TomDispatch.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Considered Angola\u2019s crown jewel by many, Lobito is a colorful port city on the country\u2019s scenic Atlantic coast where a nearly five-kilometer strip of land creates a natural harbor. Its white-sand beaches, vibrant blue waters, and mild tropical climate have made Lobito a tourist destination in recent years. Yet under its shiny new facade is a history fraught with colonial violence and exploitation.<\/p>\n<p>The Portuguese were the first Europeans to lay claim to Angola in the late 16th century. For nearly four centuries, they didn\u2019t relent until a bloody, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tv-shows\/revisited\/20220506-the-painful-legacy-of-angola-s-civil-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">27-year civil war<\/a> with anticolonial guerillas (aided by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces) and bolstered by a leftist coup in distant Lisbon, Portugal\u2019s capital, overthrew that colonial regime in 1974.<\/p>\n<p>Lobito\u2019s port was the economic heart of Portugal\u2019s reign in Angola, along with the meandering 1,866-kilometer Benguela Railway, which first became operational in the early 1900s. For much of the 20th century, Lobito was the hub for exporting to Europe agricultural goods and metals mined in Africa\u2019s Copperbelt. Today, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scirp.org\/journal\/paperinformation?paperid=115816#:~:text=Zambia's%20economy%20is%20fueled%20by,and%20eight%20significant%20underground%20mines.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Copperbelt<\/a> remains a resource-rich region encompassing much of the Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Zambia.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it won\u2019t shock you to learn that, half a century after Portugal\u2019s colonial control of Angola ended, neocolonialism is now sinking its hooks into Lobito. Its port and the Benguela Railway, which travels along what\u2019s known as the Lobito Corridor, have become a key nucleus of China\u2019s and the Western world\u2019s efforts to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources in our hot new world. If capitalist interests continue to drive this crucial transition, which is all too likely, while global energy consumption isn\u2019t scaled back radically, the amount of critical minerals needed to power the global future remains unfathomable. The World Economic Forum estimates that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2022\/11\/why-innovation-in-the-mining-sector-is-critical-for-the-energy-transition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3 billion tons<\/a> of metals will be required. The International Energy Forum estimates that to meet the global goals of radically reducing carbon emissions, we\u2019ll also need between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/11\/climate\/kobold-zambia-copper-ai-mining.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">35 and 194<\/a> massive copper mines by 2050.<\/p>\n<p>It should come as no surprise that most of the minerals from copper to cobalt needed for that transition\u2019s machinery (including electric <a href=\"https:\/\/internationalcopper.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/2017.06-E-Mobility-Factsheet-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">batteries<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.copper.org\/environment\/sustainable-energy\/renewables\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wind turbines, and solar panels<\/a>) are located in <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/countries-critical-minerals-needed-energy-transition#:~:text=Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo%2073.91,1.26%25%20Turkey%201.22%25%201.22%25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Latin America and Africa<\/a>. Worse yet, more than half (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irena.org\/Digital-Report\/Geopolitics-of-the-Energy-Transition-Critical-Materials\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">54 percent<\/a>) of the critical minerals needed are on or near Indigenous lands, which means the most vulnerable populations in the world are at the most significant risk of being impacted in a deeply negative fashion by future mining and related operations.<\/p>\n<p>When you want to understand what the future holds for a country in the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wto.org\/english\/tratop_e\/devel_e\/d1who_e.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">developing<\/a>\u201d world, as economists still like to call such regions, look no further than the International Monetary Fund (IMF). \u201cWith growing demand, proceeds from critical minerals are poised to rise significantly over the next two decades,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/News\/Articles\/2024\/04\/29\/cf-harnessing-sub-saharan-africas-critical-mineral-wealth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a> the IMF. \u201cGlobal revenues from the extraction of just four key minerals\u2014copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium\u2014are estimated to total $16 trillion over the next 25 years. Sub-Saharan Africa stands to reap over 10 percent of these accumulated revenues, which could correspond to an increase in the region\u2019s GDP by 12 percent or more by 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"current-issue-block_9ddcdeec35a183a98a9e0a2893a5f376\" class=\"current-issue  float-l-w-2\">\n<h4 class=\"current-issue__title\">\n                    Current Issue<br \/>\n            <\/h4>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/issue\/march-2025-issue\/\" class=\"current-issue__cover\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cover0325.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of March 2025 Issue\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sub-Saharan Africa alone is believed to contain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/News\/Articles\/2024\/04\/29\/cf-harnessing-sub-saharan-africas-critical-mineral-wealth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">30 percent<\/a> of the world\u2019s total critical mineral reserves. It\u2019s estimated that the Congo is responsible for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afdb.org\/en\/documents\/zambia-study-economic-diversification-and-productivity-improvement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">70 percent<\/a> of global cobalt output and approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/News\/Articles\/2024\/04\/29\/cf-harnessing-sub-saharan-africas-critical-mineral-wealth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">50 percent<\/a> of the globe\u2019s reserves. In fact, the demand for cobalt, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.aba9168\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">key ingredient<\/a> in most lithium-ion batteries, is rapidly increasing because of its use in everything from cell phones to electric vehicles. As for copper, Africa has two of the world\u2019s top producers, with Zambia accounting for <a href=\"https:\/\/investingnews.com\/daily\/resource-investing\/base-metals-investing\/copper-investing\/copper-in-africa-south-africa-drc-zambia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">70 percent<\/a> of the continent\u2019s output. \u201cThis transition,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/News\/Articles\/2024\/04\/29\/cf-harnessing-sub-saharan-africas-critical-mineral-wealth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">adds<\/a> the IMF, \u201cif managed properly, has the potential to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/-\/media\/Files\/Publications\/REO\/AFR\/2024\/April\/English\/MineralsNote.ashx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">transform the region<\/a>.\u201d And, of course, it won\u2019t be pretty.<\/p>\n<p>While such critical minerals might be mined in rural areas of the Congo and Zambia, they must reach the international marketplace to become profitable, which makes Angola and the Lobito Corridor key to Africa\u2019s booming mining industry.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024, China committed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usip.org\/publications\/2023\/06\/challenging-chinas-grip-critical-minerals-can-be-boon-africas-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$4.5 billion<\/a> to African lithium mines alone and another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/commodities\/chinese-invest-up-7-bln-congo-mining-infrastructure-statement-2024-01-27\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$7 billion<\/a> to investments in copper and cobalt mining infrastructure. In the Congo, for example, China controls 70 percent of the mining sector.<\/p>\n<p>Having lagged behind that country\u2019s investments in Africa for years, the United States is now looking to make up ground.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-zambia-s-copper-colonialism\">Zambia\u2019s Copper Colonialism<\/h4>\n<div id=\"cta-block_49c67b7cd8d4667878c212c2acc83028\" class=\"cta float-l-w-2\">\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">In September 2023, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in India, Secretary of State Antony Blinken quietly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2023\/09\/09\/joint-statement-from-the-united-states-and-the-european-union-on-support-for-angola-zambia-and-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congos-commitment-to-further-develop-the-lobito-corridor-and-the\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signed an agreement<\/a> with Angola, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the European Union to launch the Lobito Corridor project. There wasn\u2019t much fanfare or news coverage, but the United States had made a significant move. Almost 50 years after Portugal was forced out of Angola, the West was back, offering a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/briefings-foreign-press-centers\/unga79\/lobito-corridor-trans-africa-connectivity#:~:text=In%20less%20than%2018%20months,infrastructure%20across%20multiple%20interconnected%20sectors.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$4 billion<\/a> commitment and assessing the need to update the infrastructure first built by European colonizers. With a growing need for critical minerals, Western countries are now setting their sights on Africa and its green energy treasures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe meet at a historic moment,\u201d President Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/cb2823c7-f451-4bc9-959e-ec7e07384a31\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> as he welcomed Angolan President Jo\u00e3o Louren\u00e7o to Washington last year. Biden then called the Lobito project the \u201cbiggest US rail investment in Africa ever\u201d and affirmed the West\u2019s interest in what the region might have to offer in the future. \u201cAmerica,\u201d he added, \u201cis all in on Africa.\u2026 We\u2019re all in with you and Angola.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both Africa and the United States, Biden was careful to imply, would reap the benefits of such a coalition. Of course, that\u2019s precisely the kind of rhetoric we can expect when Western (or Chinese) interests are intent on acquiring the resources of the Global South. If this were about oil or coal, questions and concerns would undoubtedly be raised regarding America\u2019s regional intentions. Yet, with the fight against climate change providing cover, few are considering the geopolitical ramifications of such a position\u2014and even fewer acknowledging the impacts of massively increased mining on the continent.<\/p>\n<p>In his book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1250322154\/ref=nosim\/?tag=tomdispatch-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Cobalt Red<\/em><\/a>, Siddharth Kara exposes the bloody conditions cobalt miners in the Congo endure, many of them children laboring against their will for days on end, with little sleep and under excruciatingly abusive conditions. The dreadful story is much the same in Zambia, where copper exports account for more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2011\/11\/03\/zambia-workers-detail-abuse-chinese-owned-mines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">70 percent<\/a> of the country\u2019s total export revenue. A devastating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2011\/11\/04\/youll-be-fired-if-you-refuse\/labor-abuses-zambias-chinese-state-owned-copper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">126-page report<\/a> by Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 2011 exposed the wretchedness inside Zambia\u2019s Chinese-owned mines: 18-hour work days, unsafe working environments, rampant anti-union activities, and fatal workplace accidents. There is little reason to believe it\u2019s much different in the more recent Western-owned operations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFriends tell you that there\u2019s a danger as they\u2019re coming out of shift,\u201d a miner who was injured while working for a Chinese company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2011\/11\/04\/youll-be-fired-if-you-refuse\/labor-abuses-zambias-chinese-state-owned-copper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> HRW. \u201cYou\u2019ll be fired if you refuse, they threaten this all the time.\u2026 The main accidents are from rock falls, but you also have electrical shocks, people hit by mining trucks underground, people falling from platforms that aren\u2019t stable.\u2026 In my accident, I was in a loading box. The mine captain\u2026didn\u2019t put a platform. So when we were working, a rock fell down and hit my arm. It broke to the extent that the bone was coming out of the arm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An explosion at one mine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-humanrights.org\/en\/latest-news\/death-toll-in-blast-at-zambia-mine-climbs-to-51\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">killed 51<\/a> workers in 2005 and things have only devolved since then. Ten workers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctif.org\/news\/lethal-accidents-common-zambia-copper-mines-10-dead-and-least-10-injured-illegal-waste\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">died<\/a> in 2018 at an illegal copper extraction site. In 2019, three mineworkers were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.industriall-union.org\/zambia-three-mineworkers-die-in-underground-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">burned to death<\/a> in an underground shaft fire and a landslide at an open-pit copper mine in Zambia <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/zambia-mine-collapse-landslides-deaths-trapped-1780f146164caf09da8324553648ded2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">killed more than 30<\/a> miners in 2023. Despite such horrors, there\u2019s a rush to extract ever more copper in Zambia. As of 2022, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scirp.org\/journal\/paperinformation?paperid=115816#:~:text=Zambia's%20economy%20is%20fueled%20by,and%20eight%20significant%20underground%20mines.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">five<\/a> gigantic open-pit copper mines were operating in the country, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scirp.org\/journal\/paperinformation?paperid=115816#:~:text=Zambia's%20economy%20is%20fueled%20by,and%20eight%20significant%20underground%20mines.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">eight<\/a> more underground mines were in production, many of which are to be further expanded in the years ahead. With new US-backed mines in the works, Washington believes the Lobito Corridor may prove to be the missing link needed to ensure Zambian copper will end up in green energy goods consumed in the West.<\/p>\n<section aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad fullwidth-ad contained row position-relative ad-block alignfull \">\n            <!--Ad policy starts here--><br \/>\n                    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/advertising-policy\" class=\"mid-ad-policy\">Ad Policy<\/a><br \/>\n                <!--Ad policy ends here--><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ai-mining-for-ai-energy\">AI Mining for AI Energy<\/h4>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">The office of KoBold Metals in quaint downtown Berkeley, California, is about as far away from Zambia\u2019s dirty mines as you can get. Yet, at KoBold\u2019s nondescript headquarters, which sits above a row of trendy bars and restaurants, a team of tech entrepreneurs diligently work to locate the next big mine operation in Zambia using proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI). Backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, KoBold bills itself as a green Silicon Valley machine, committed to the world\u2019s green energy transition (while turning a nice profit).<\/p>\n<p>It is in KoBold\u2019s interest, of course, to secure the energy deposits of the future because it will take an immense amount of energy to support their artificially intelligent world. A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/electricity-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> by the International Energy Agency estimates that, in the near future, electricity usage by AI data centers will increase significantly. As of 2022, such data centers were already utilizing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2024\/07\/240726113337.htm#:~:text=The%20International%20Energy%20Agency%20(IEA,the%20entire%20country%20of%20Japan.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">460 terawatt hours<\/a> (TWh) but are on pace to increase to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/bethkindig\/2024\/06\/20\/ai-power-consumption-rapidly-becoming-mission-critical\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1,050 TWh<\/a> by the middle of the decade. To put that in perspective, Europe\u2019s total energy consumption in 2023 was around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1260536\/eu-power-demand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2,700 TWh<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone who\u2019s in the renewable space in the western world\u2026is looking for copper and cobalt, which are fundamental to making electric vehicles,\u201d Mfikeyi Makayi, chief executive of KoBold in Zambia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/cb2823c7-f451-4bc9-959e-ec7e07384a31?accessToken=zwAGIDBbnTeIkdPLKCPH9FFLydOVnux-BzhKMQ.MEUCIQDqwDzOAdA7y3nBUTo0PA3T3o5F1uvojKfxRFIQqkLYwQIgWGeDSj3z0y4g7WXuIkCyd8o2XvLGZgRqqt1YHrm5r2Q&amp;sharetype=gift&amp;token=ab0a2149-59c6-4897-9b50-61ebe5b72323\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained<\/a> to the <em>Financial Times<\/em> in 2024. \u201cThat is going to come from this part of the world and the shortest route to take them out is Lobito.\u201d<\/p>\n<section id=\"popular-block_ec722db03f7795b90a927ad7bb782a61\" class=\"popular-articles\">\n<div class=\"swiper\">\n<p><h2>Popular<\/h2>\n<p>            <span class=\"swipe-msg\"><span class=\"sr-only\">\u201cswipe left below to view more authors\u201d<\/span>Swipe \u2192<\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<ol class=\"popular-articles__list\">\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Makayi wasn\u2019t beating around the bush. The critical minerals in KoBold mines won\u2019t end up in the possession of Zambia or any other African country. They are bound for Western consumers alone. KoBold\u2019s CEO Kurt House is also honest about his intentions: \u201cI don\u2019t need to be reminded again that I\u2019m a capitalist,\u201d he\u2019s been known to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/11\/climate\/kobold-zambia-copper-ai-mining.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">quip<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In July 2024, House rang his company\u2019s investors with great news: KoBold had just hit the jackpot in Zambia. Its novel AI tech had located the largest copper find in more than a decade. Once running, it could produce upwards of 300,000 tons of copper annually\u2014or, in the language investors understand, the cash will soon flow. As of late summer 2024, one ton of copper on the international market <a href=\"https:\/\/markets.businessinsider.com\/commodities\/copper-price\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cost<\/a> more than $9,600. Of course, KoBold has gone all in, spending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2024-06-07\/zambia-sees-kobold-spending-2-3-billion-on-giant-copper-mine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$2.3 billion<\/a> to get the Zambian mine operable by 2030. Surely, KoBold\u2019s investors were excited by the prospect, but not everyone was as thrilled as them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe value of copper that has left Zambia is in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Hold that figure in your mind, and then look around yourself in Zambia,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/11\/climate\/kobold-zambia-copper-ai-mining.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">says<\/a> Zambian economist Grieve Chelwa. \u201cThe link between resource and benefit is severed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not only has Zambia relinquished the benefits of such mineral exploitation, but\u2014consider it a guarantee\u2014its people will be left to suffer the local mess that will result.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-poisoned-river\">The Poisoned River<\/h4>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) is today the largest ore producer in Zambia, ripping out a combined <a href=\"http:\/\/kcm.co.zm\/our-operations\/performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2 million tons<\/a> of copper a year. It\u2019s one of the nation\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/kcm.co.zm\/corporate-profile\/company-overview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">largest employers<\/a>, with a brutally long record of worker and environmental abuses. KCM runs Zambia\u2019s largest open-pit mine, which stretches for seven miles. In 2019, the British-based Vedanta Resources acquired an 80 percent stake in KCM by covering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/web\/vedanta-set-to-regain-control-of-zambia-copper-mine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$250 million<\/a> of that company\u2019s debt. Vedanta has deep pockets and is run by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, affectionately known in the mining world as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sovrenn.com\/knowledge\/anil-agarwal-a-journey-from-scrap-dealer-to-business-tycoon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Metal King<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One thing should be taken for granted: You don\u2019t become the Metal King without leaving entrails of toxic waste on your coattails. In India, Agarwal\u2019s alumina mines have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.survivalinternational.org\/news\/4678\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">polluted<\/a> the lands of the Indigenous Kondh tribes in Orissa Province. In Zambia, his copper mines have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterdiplomat.org\/story\/2021\/02\/copper-mining-giant-settles-zambian-villagers-over-historic-pollution-abuses_180549\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrecked<\/a> farmlands and waterways that once supplied fish and drinking water to thousands of villagers.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/files.worldwildlife.org\/wwfcmsprod\/files\/Publication\/file\/36aipxm37i_Kafue_River_Basin_Report_Card_v18.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kafue River<\/a> runs for more than 1,500 kilometers, making it Zambia\u2019s longest river and now probably its most polluted as well. Going north to south, its waters flow through the Copperbelt, carrying with them cadmium, lead, and mercury from KCM\u2019s mine. In 2019, thousands of Zambian villagers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/world\/nearly-2000-zambian-villagers-can-sue-vedanta-in-england-supreme-court-idUSKCN1RM18S\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sued<\/a> Vedanta, claiming its subsidiary KCM had poisoned the Kafue River and caused insurmountable damage to their lands.<\/p>\n<p>The British Supreme Court then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-humanrights.org\/en\/latest-news\/vedanta-konkola-copper-mines-settle-uk-lawsuit-brought-by-zambian-villagers-for-alleged-pollution-from-mining-activities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found Vedanta liable<\/a>, and the company was forced to pay an undisclosed settlement, likely in the millions of dollars. Such a landmark victory for those Zambian villagers couldn\u2019t have happened without the work of Chilekwa Mumba, who organized communities and convinced an international law firm to take up the case. Mumba grew up in the Chingola region of Zambia, where his father worked in the mines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[T]here was some environmental degradation going on as a result of the mining activities. As we found, there were times when the acid levels of water was so high,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loe.org\/shows\/segments.html?programID=23-P13-00017&amp;segmentID=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained<\/a> Mumba, the 2023 African recipient of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. \u201cSo there were very specific complaints about stomach issues from children. Children just really wander around the villages and if they are thirsty, they don\u2019t think about what\u2019s happening, they\u2019ll just get a cup and take their drink of water from the river. That\u2019s how they live. So they\u2019ll usually get diseases. It\u2019s hard to quantify, but clearly the impact was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sadly enough, though, despite that important legal victory, little has changed in Zambia, where environmental regulations remain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S2214790X23001430\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">weak<\/a> and nearly impossible to enforce, which leaves mining companies like KCM to regulate themselves. A 2024 Zambian legislative bill seeks to create a regulatory body to oversee mining operations, but the industry has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/commodities\/zambias-proposed-mining-law-bad-investment-miners-say-2024-08-07\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pushed back<\/a>, making it unclear if it will ever be signed into law. Even if the law does pass, it may have little real-world impact on mining practices there.<\/p>\n<p>The warming climate, at least to the billionaire mine owners and their Western accomplices, will remain an afterthought, as well as a justification to exploit more of Africa\u2019s critical minerals. Consider it a new type of colonialism, this time with a green capitalist veneer. There are just too many AI programs to run, too many tech gadgets to manufacture, and too much money to be made.<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-end-\" class=\"article-end \">\n<div class=\"article-end__authors\">\n<div class=\"article-end__author\">\n<h5 class=\"article-end__author-name\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/joshua-frank\/\">Joshua Frank<\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/h5>\n<div class=\"article-end__author-bio\">\n<p>Joshua Frank is an award-winning California-based journalist and a coeditor of <em>CounterPunch<\/em>. He is the author of the book <em>Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <!-- Tag ID: thenation_incontent_2 --><\/p>\n<section class=\"collections collections--col-0\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<h2 class=\"collections__title\">More from <span class=\"not-italic\">The Nation<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"collection__row\">\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/syria-refugees-assad-samos\/\" aria-label=\"What\u2019s Next for Syrian Refugees? \"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2188300133.jpg\" alt=\"Celebrations erupted around Syria and crowds ransacked President Bashar al-Assad's luxurious home on December 8 after Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus and declared that he had fled the country, in a spectacular end to five decades of Baath party rule.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<p class=\"dek\">\nWhile Syrians around the world are celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad\u2019s regime, they are still cautious about what comes next.\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n<p>                                                                <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/helen-benedict\/\">Helen Benedict<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/politics\/eric-adams-hochul-resign\/\" aria-label=\"How Do You Solve a Problem Like Eric Adams?\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2192005253.jpg\" alt=\"New York City Mayor Eric Adams.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<p class=\"dek\">\nAs long as Eric Adams refuses to resign, New Yorkers must contemplate other options, including\u2014but not limited to\u2014intervention by the state\u2019s governor.\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n<p>                                                                <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/elie-mystal\/\">Elie Mystal<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/politics\/how-to-organize-our-way-out-of-the-trump-musk-putsch\/\" aria-label=\"How to Organize Our Way Out of the Trump-Musk Putsch\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NotMyPrez.jpg\" alt=\"A protester at Washington, DC\u2019s \u201cNot My President\u201d rally on February 17.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<p class=\"dek\">\nBy firing Gwynne Wilcox, Trump is hoping the Supreme Court will overrule 90 years of legal precedent and give him the authority to fire members of independent boards.\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n<p>                                                                <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/ezra-levin-2\/\">Ezra Levin<\/a><span> and <\/span><a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/leah-greenberg\/\">Leah Greenberg<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/politics\/trump-gwynne-wilcox-firing-nlrb\/\" aria-label=\"How Donald Trump Dismantled a Worker Protection Agency With One Late-Night E-Mail\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Gwynne-Wilcox-cc-Wikipedia.jpg\" alt=\"Gwynne Wilcox in front of American flag.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<p class=\"dek\">\nBy firing Gwynne Wilcox, Trump is hoping the Supreme Court will overrule 90 years of legal precedent and give him the authority to fire members of independent boards.\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n<p>                                                                <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/lynn-rhinehart\/\">Lynn Rhinehart<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>        <!-- Tag ID: thenation_btf_medrec --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"tpContentAuthor\" value=\"Joshua Frank\"\/><br \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"tpTags\" value=\"africa,corporations,economic-policy,energy-policy,environmental-activism,ethical-economics,globalization,inequality,technology,colonialism,technology\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script 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Ad Policy &#13; Volunteers help distribute meal bags in Zambia during a severe drought. (Guillem Sartorio \/ AFP) This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12022],"tags":[16126,2004,46152,3912,37247,46150,46151],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-98169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activist","tag-colonialism","tag-copper","tag-farmlands","tag-technology","tag-waterways","tag-wrecking","tag-zambias"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Copper Colonialism Is Wrecking Zambia\u2019s Farmlands and Waterways - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=98169\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Copper Colonialism Is Wrecking Zambia\u2019s Farmlands and Waterways - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 17, 2024 Zambia is just one of several nations experiencing a new type of colonialism, this time with a green capitalist veneer. 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Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=98169","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Copper Colonialism Is Wrecking Zambia\u2019s Farmlands and Waterways - Som2ny Network","og_description":"October 17, 2024 Zambia is just one of several nations experiencing a new type of colonialism, this time with a green capitalist veneer. Ad Policy &#13; Volunteers help distribute meal bags in Zambia during a severe drought. (Guillem Sartorio \/ AFP) This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. 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