The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has suspended operations at a major Chinese-owned copper and cobalt mine after a catastrophic dam failure released toxic water into Lubumbashi, the country’s second-largest city, Business Insider Africa reports.
The incident occurred on November 4 at a containment dam operated by Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM), a subsidiary of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., based in China’s Zhejiang province.
The dam collapse unleashed “several million cubic meters of electrolytes,” flooding hundreds of homes across three neighborhoods and forcing residents to evacuate.
Environmental experts warn that the spill may have contaminated local wells — a key source of drinking water for Lubumbashi’s over three million residents.
According to DR Congo’s Mines Minister Louis Watum, CDM’s waste management system failed to meet international safety standards, citing poor structural stability and the absence of emergency plans.
Preliminary findings from the government’s environmental commission (OCC) indicate high levels of lead, arsenic, and other toxic substances in the affected waters.
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“We are already seeing biodiversity loss, especially among fish and insects,” said Dickson Kabange, a member of the OCC team. He also warned that the toxic materials could enter the local food chain, posing health risks to residents. This environmental disaster adds to growing concern about mining safety in the Copperbelt region, which stretches across DR Congo and Zambia. Earlier this year, a Chinese-owned dam at the Sino-Metals Leach facility in Zambia collapsed, spilling cyanide and arsenic into the Kafue River.
Environmental investigators later found the amount of toxic waste released to be 30 times greater than initially disclosed.
While DR Congo remains the world’s largest producer of cobalt — a key component in electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy technologies — incidents like this highlight the sector’s persistent safety and governance challenges.
In 2024, CDM generated $1.1 billion in revenue, down from $1.52 billion in 2023, mainly from copper exports.
Environmentalists and policymakers are now calling for stricter oversight, transparency, and accountability in Africa’s mining industry to prevent further ecological and human health crises.
