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A South African-owned company is providing access to toxic lead-bearing waste in Kabwe despite severe health risks for residents, Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleged on Thursday.
Juliane Kippenberg, Associate Children’s Rights Director at HRW, said the waste comes from a former lead and zinc mine that was never cleaned up and has long been the source of mass lead poisoning, particularly among children.
She said Enviro Processing Limited (EPL), a subsidiary of Jubilee Metals Group of South Africa, holds a small-scale mining licence for the former Kabwe mine area and its waste, known locally as “Black Mountain.”
HRW said Jubilee Metals had entered into a deal with Zambian company Chitofu General Dealers Limited and China’s Union Star Industry Limited to sell the waste for zinc extraction, a process that risks spreading lead contamination further.
“The South African company Jubilee Metals, alongside Zambian and Chinese counterparts, are selling lead-bearing waste in a manner posing a serious risk to children’s health,” Kippenberg said.
HRW said Kabwe was one of the most lead-polluted places globally, with over 95 percent of children living near the former mine showing elevated blood lead levels. About half of them urgently need medical treatment, according to researchers cited by the rights group.
In a report released in March 2025, HRW documented ongoing mining and processing of Kabwe’s lead waste by EPL, Union Star Industry, and other companies operating with government-issued licences.
The organisation said the government should sanction companies that violate environmental and mining laws, including those causing “uncontrollable pollution” under Article 36 of the Mines and Minerals Act.
Although Jubilee Metals denied selling waste material during a September 2024 video conference with HRW, the group said it had obtained a February 2025 contract addendum showing EPL’s agreement with Chitofu and Union Star Industry.
Local residents also reported seeing trucks with “Chitofu” signs hauling waste from EPL’s concession as recently as July.
HRW acknowledged that the Zambian government had recently suspended Chinese companies for violating environmental laws in Kabwe.
However, it urged authorities to extend the suspension to EPL’s operations, investigate political links to waste sales, and hold accountable anyone found to have acted unlawfully.
The organisation further called on the government to develop a comprehensive remediation programme for Kabwe’s lead waste in consultation with affected communities, civil society, and experts.
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