‘South African Firm Transferring Toxic Lead’ 4 September 2025

A South African-owned company is providing access to toxic lead-bearing waste in the Zambian city of Kabwe despite immense health risks for local residents, Human Rights Watch said today. The material derives from waste material at a former mine that has never been cleaned up and has been the source of mass lead poisoning among residents, especially children. Enviro Processing Limited (EPL), a subsidiary of the South African company Jubilee Metals Group, holds a small-scale mining license for the former Kabwe mine area and its waste, known as “Black Mountain.” Jubilee Metals claims it “improves the quality of life of those living in proximity” of former mines. The company has apparently entered a deal with a Zambian company and a Chinese company to sell the waste for the purpose of extracting zinc. But the planned removal and transport of waste risks spreading the toxic lead further.

Human Rights Watch published a report in March 2025 documenting the ongoing harmful mining, removal, and processing of Kabwe’s lead waste by several companies, including EPL, Union Star Industry, and several other Chinese processing companies. Human Rights Watch found that the Zambian government facilitated the activities by issuing mining and processing licenses to several companies.

…Human Rights Watch said that the government should sanction companies violating Zambian environmental and mining law, such as causing “uncontrollable pollution” under article 36 of the Mines and Minerals Act. In late August, media reported that province and district officials had suspended operations at four Chinese processing companies in Kabwe, saying their activities violated environmental regulations. However, Union Star Industry was not affected and continues operations. Globally, zinc is a highly sought-after metal for a wide range of industrial uses, including in wind turbines for the urgently needed fossil-fuel phaseout and transition to renewable energy. The Zambian government has designated zinc and lead in Kabwe as “critical minerals,” and said that their exploitation should be prioritized for the country’s socio-economic development. ...

In a video conference with Human Rights Watch in September 2024, Jubilee Metals denied selling the waste material. However, Human Rights Watch has obtained a copy of a contract addendum detailing an agreement between EPL, the Zambian company Chitofu General Dealers Limited, and the Chinese company Union Star Industry Limited, dated February 15, 2025. The addendum states that Chitofu is a buyer of “zinc tailings” from EPL, and Union Star Industry is the “offtaker,” a third party purchasing from Chitofu.

…Human Rights Watch wrote to Jubilee Metals Group and to Chitofu and Union Star Industry, in April and June respectively, to request information including the original contract between them and their environmental impact assessments. Human Rights Watch only received a response from Jubilee Metals. Its response, dated May 22, 2025, stated that Chitofu was established in collaboration with Central Province authorities to represent “youth groups” that had previously accessed the waste illegally or pressured Jubilee Metals to do so, causing violent altercations “placing EPL and Sable Refinery’s staff at risk.” Jubilee Metals stated that Chitofu has been given “exclusive access” to a “small quantity” of the waste material “subject to approval from ZEMA” (the Zambia Environmental Management Agency). The letter did not clarify whether this approval was granted, or whether and how much Chitofu paid for access to the material. Jubilee Metals did not mention or provide an environmental impact assessment or the original contract with Chitofu.