Zambia’s mining legacy: how the poisoned city of kabwe warns against repeating environmental disasters in the green energy transition

As the world races toward a green energy future, Zambia stands positioned to capitalize on surging global demand for copper and other critical transition minerals. However, the devastating environmental legacy of Kabwe—a central Zambian mining city left poisoned by decades of resource extraction—serves as a stark reminder of what can go wrong when mining operations prioritize profits over people and planet.

The human cost of this toxic inheritance is embodied in the story of Oliver Nyirenda, a young activist from Kabwe whose childhood was marked by stunted growth and delayed development—symptoms of severe lead poisoning. His condition resulted from decades of unregulated mining and smelting operations by the former Broken Hill mine company, which contaminated the city’s soil, air, and water with dangerous levels of lead. Nyirenda’s story has become central to a grassroots campaign called “Zambia’s Sacrifice Zone,” launched in June 2024 by a coalition of youth activists, journalists, and environmental organizations.

The campaign, a collaboration between Zambia’s Agents of Change Foundation and South Africa’s Radio Workshop, uses podcasts, radio programs, and community listening sessions to spotlight Kabwe’s environmental crisis and demand accountability from both government officials and mining companies. Environmental activists warn that without fundamental changes to mining practices and regulation, Zambia’s new green mineral boom risks repeating the same patterns of destruction that devastated communities like Kabwe—undermining both local health and livelihoods while potentially compromising the very environmental goals that drive demand for these transition minerals.