Zambia’s $80 Billion Mining Lawsuit Risks Collapse Without Unity and Leadership

Finally, there is some good news for the victims of Sino Metals Leach Zambia, a Chinese state-owned copper mine whose waste dam failed in February.

According to a report by the BBC, over 170 farmers have filed an $80bn lawsuit against two Chinese-linked firms, blaming them for an “ecological catastrophe” caused by the collapse of a dam that stored waste from copper mining.

They allege that the collapse of the tailings dam — owned by Sino Metals in Chambishi, Kalulushi district— was caused by numerous factors, including engineering failures, construction flaws, and operational mismanagement.

While this development is encouraging for the farmers, the manner in which lawyers are handling the case is a problem.

It appears lawyers of all kinds are descending on the victims like vultures circling a carcass.

What we have heard from our sources is that the number of farmers who have sued is actually higher than the figure reported by the BBC.

One lawyer is representing 47 farmers, while another firm has sued on behalf of 157. At the moment, it is not clear which group has filed the $80bn lawsuit.

There is, in fact, an outbreak of lawsuits against Sino Metals, a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group, which is owned by the Chinese government.

The lack of coordination among lawyers may lead to a divided camp that will not be able to take on the powerful Chinese company.

he hurdles that lawyers are likely to face in the case include proving causation and establishing the amount of damages at the claimed scale of $80 billion.

Prior settlement agreements some residents have signed may also stand in the way. Moreover, the fact that government has publicly downplayed the risk could further complicate damages and the scope of the class action.

Government should have drawn lessons from the Mariana dam collapse of 2015, one of Brazil’s worst environmental disasters.

The collapse of the dam at the iron ore mine owned by Samarco — a joint venture between Vale and BHP — near the city of Mariana in southeastern Brazil, unleashed a wave of tailings in a disaster that killed 19 people, left hundreds homeless, flooded forests, and polluted the length of the Doce River.

In that case, it was the Brazilian government that filed a lawsuit against Samarco on behalf of its citizens. But in October last year, the government entered into an out-of-court settlement of $29.85 billion with the company.

The annual payments were scheduled until 2043. The staggered payments help deal with future liabilities when the effects of the disaster begin to show years after the pollution.

This lawsuit by farmers against Sino Metals is a rare moment of hope in the struggle for accountability after one of Zambia’s worst environmental disasters. But hope alone will not be enough. Unless the legal fight is coordinated, credible, and supported by government leadership, victims risk being re-victimised — this time by the very lawyers meant to defend them.

Zambia cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of silence and disunity. The country must draw lessons from Brazil’s example and ensure that justice is delivered not in fragments, but in a way that secures dignity, compensation, and lasting protection for its people.