What You Should Know About the Mining Drama in the Lower Zambezi

For the past ten years, the Lower Zambezi national park – one of Zambia’s most economically and ecologically important protected areas has been the centre of a heated clash, with environmentalists on one hand and Mwembeshi Resources Ltd on the other.In March 2010 Mwembeshi Resources Ltd, a subsidiary of Zambezi Resources Ltd, was awarded a license for a large scale open-pit copper mine which was to be located at the heart of the Lower Zambezi national park. This caused an uproar among environmentalists and local communities who felt the Government did not consider the far-reaching economic, social, and environmental consequences that an open pit mine would have on the Lower Zambezi ecosystem.The Zambia Environmental Management Agency – ZEMA also rejected the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report that the company provided for the proposed mine. Since then, the case has been in and out of court, as one side’s victory is petitioned by the other. […]