<description>&lt;p&gt;Millions of Zambians along the Kafue River are coming to grips with the devastating environmental impact brought about by a massive acid spill from a Chinese-run copper mine. A tailings dam broke on February 18th, sending 50 million liters of toxic water into the Kafue River, killing fish, wildlife and endangering public health.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sino-Metals, the Chinese mining company, apologized for the accident and said that it is "doing its best" to clean up the mess.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Eric, Cobus, and Geraud discuss the political implications of the spill and what's at stake for the Chinese government if the company fails to take care of this environmental tragedy. Plus, the guys also break down a new $1.4 billion Chinese deal to refurbish the TAZARA railway and the prospects of a U.S. critical resource mining deal in the DRC.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="p-rich_text_section"&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type= "bold"&gt;Show Notes:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;ul class= "p-rich_text_list p-rich_text_list__bullet p-rich_text_list--nested" data-stringify-type="unordered-list" data-list-tree="true" data-indent="0" data-border="0"&gt; &lt;li data-stringify-indent="0" data-stringify-border="0"&gt; &lt;strong data-stringify-type="bold"&gt;Associated Press:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a class="c-link c-link--underline" href= "https://apnews.com/article/mining-pollution-china-zambia-environment-93ee91d1156471aaf9a7ebd6f51333c1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "https://apnews.com/article/mining-pollution-china-zambia-environment-93ee91d1156471aaf9a7ebd6f51333c1" data-sk="tooltip_parent"&gt;A river 'died' overnight in Zambia after an acidic waste spill at a Chinese-owned mine&lt;/a&gt; by Richard Kille and Jacob Zimba&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li data-stringify-indent="0" data-stringify-border="0"&gt; &lt;strong data-stringify-type="bold"&gt;Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a class= "c-link c-link--underline" href= "https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/03/can-the-drc-leverage-us-china-competition-over-critical-minerals?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/03/can-the-drc-leverage-us-china-competition-over-critical-minerals?lang=en" data-sk="tooltip_parent"&gt;Can the DRC Leverage U.S.-China Competition Over Critical Minerals for Peace?&lt;/a&gt; by Christian-Géraud Neema&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li data-stringify-indent="0" data-stringify-border="0"&gt; &lt;strong data-stringify-type= "bold"&gt;Bloomberg:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a class="c-link c-link--underline" href= "https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-20/china-to-invest-1-4-billion-to-upgrade-africa-s-tazara-railway-line?sref=uMuyuNij" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-20/china-to-invest-1-4-billion-to-upgrade-africa-s-tazara-railway-line?sref=uMuyuNij" data-sk="tooltip_parent"&gt;China to Invest $1.4 Billion to Upgrade Tanzana-Zambia Rail Line&lt;/a&gt; by Matthew Hill&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;X: &lt;a href="https://x.com/christiangeraud"&gt;@christiangeraud&lt;/a&gt; I &lt;a href= "https://twitter.com/chinagsproject"&gt;@ChinaGSProject&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/eric_olander"&gt;@eric_olander&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://x.com/stadenesque"&gt;@stadenesque&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Facebook: &lt;a href= "https://www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject"&gt;www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  YouTube: &lt;a href= "https://www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth"&gt;www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at &lt;a href= "https://bsky.app/profile/chinagsproject.bsky.social"&gt;@chinagsproject.bsky.social&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Français: &lt;a href= "https://www.projetafriquechine.com/"&gt;www.projetafriquechine.com&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/afrikchine"&gt;@AfrikChine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  Arabic: عربي: &lt;a href= "https://alsin-alsharqalawsat.com/"&gt;www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com&lt;/a&gt; | @&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/SinSharqAwsat"&gt;SinSharqAwsat&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;JOIN US ON PATREON!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric &amp; Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! &lt;a href= "https://www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth"&gt;www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

The China in Africa Podcast

The China-Global South Project

WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Mining Disaster in Zambia

MAR 21, 202560 MIN
The China in Africa Podcast

WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Mining Disaster in Zambia

MAR 21, 202560 MIN

Description

Millions of Zambians along the Kafue River are coming to grips with the devastating environmental impact brought about by a massive acid spill from a Chinese-run copper mine. A tailings dam broke on February 18th, sending 50 million liters of toxic water into the Kafue River, killing fish, wildlife and endangering public health.

Sino-Metals, the Chinese mining company, apologized for the accident and said that it is "doing its best" to clean up the mess.

Eric, Cobus, and Geraud discuss the political implications of the spill and what's at stake for the Chinese government if the company fails to take care of this environmental tragedy. Plus, the guys also break down a new $1.4 billion Chinese deal to refurbish the TAZARA railway and the prospects of a U.S. critical resource mining deal in the DRC.

Show Notes:

X: @christiangeraud I @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social

FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat

JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth