Chinese-Owned SinoMetals copper production up 195% after 2025 Kafue River pollution scandal

Sino-Metals Leach Zambia Limited, the Chinese-owned minerals processing company at the centre of Zambia’s 2025 Kafue River pollution crisis, has reported a 195% increase in copper production for the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to official government statistics.

The company, which operates in the Copperbelt province, resumed copper output in February 2026 after a suspension following a catastrophic tailings dam failure in February 2025. In February 2025, Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited suspended operations following a dam failure at its tailings storage facility.

The spillage affected the Kafue River ecosystem, resulting in severe impacts on aquatic life, water supplies, and agricultural activities along the river basin. According to half-year production figures submitted to the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, Sino-Metals produced 2,600 metric tonnes of copper from January to June 2026, up from 910 metric tonnes during the same period in 2025, prior to the operational halt caused by the environmental disaster.

However, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Sydney Chileya told the Zambian Business Times (ZBT) that these figures do not present a wholly accurate comparison, as the mine remained closed for much of 2025 and only resumed operations in February 2026. He added that a more representative analysis would compare current output to years when the mine was fully operational, such as 2024, instead of the disrupted 2025 period.

“There was no copper production at Sino-Metals Leach Zambia Limited February 2025. Our operations were fully suspended from February 18, 2025, to January 26 of the following year. Therefore, it is not possible to report a 100% increase in copper production for a period when no production occurred.” Chileya remarked.