Copper in Zambia

The copper production process includes mining, concentration, smelting, refining, and fabrication. The concentration of copper usually takes place near the mine, but the other process steps can take place anywhere. In Zambia, smelting occurs locally, not least because of problems with transport. Smelting is energy intensive so that large implied environmental subsidies can be found in energy prices.

Environmental impacts of the copper chain include air pollution, water pollution and landscape destruction. The impacts are predominantly concentrated in the mining, concentrating and smelting stages, thus located largely near the place of extraction.

The biggest obstacle to improved environmental management of the copper chain is the lack of revenues at mine level that could be used to address environmental problems, and, in general, the weak negotiating position of the Zambian government vis-a-vis the mining industry because of Zambia's economic and social dependency on the sector.

There is little local pressure for environmental change in the Zambian mining sector. The copper chain is not the object of much public pressure in the north either. Some industrial users of copper in the North are implementing environmental management systems, which require them to question the environmental practices of their suppliers and will ultimately cause a shift to certified mines. Additional pressure for change comes from financial institutions, which fear that unsustainable mining operations may spark social unrest and may generate future liability claims.

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