Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) recently announced a raft of new initiatives as part of its Going Greencampaign, which was launched in April. These initiatives are designed to restore the environment around its mining sites and reclaim Chingola’s place as the greenest and cleanest town in Zambia.

KCM has briefed civic leaders from the Chingola Municipal Council and is organising site tours to areas where clean-ups are taking place.

‘’We are committed to providing regular updates on our environmental performance and to enhancing transparency as part of our Going Green campaign,’’ Anil Tripathi, KCM’s General Manager Sustainability, said.

‘’Our Going Green campaign comprises three pillars – Environmental Restoration, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Local Economic Development,’’ commented KCM’s General Manager Power, Energy and CSR Howard Chilundika, in a briefing that he gave jointly with Mr Tripathi to deputy Mayor of Chingola George Kampamba and other councilors on 14 June 2017

The KCM managers outlined the various measures being taken to improve environmental management by monitoring several points of discharge that could be of concern to employees, residents and other stakeholders.

“We have set up air monitoring units within our plant and the community around us, as well as smog monitoring devices at our smelter,’’ Mr Chilundika told the councilors. “We are employing modern technology to monitor water quality 24 hours a day at our pollution control dam, checking for conductivity and pH (the measure of acidity/alkalinity).’’

Initiatives under the “Going Green” campaign include:

· Ambient Air Quality Monitoring: KCM has four ambient air quality monitoring stations at Wusakile Hospital, Nchanga South Hospital, 10th Street Health Centre in Chingola, and at the Tailings Dump number 2. KCM will regularly share monitoring updates with the community. 

· Emissions Monitoring at the Nchanga Smelter: KCM has put up a state of the art Sulphur dioxide monitoring system at its Nchanga Smelter. By end of July 2017, online dust and carbon dioxide monitoring units will also be operational.

· Conductivity monitoring at Pollution Control Dam: Conductivity is a general measure of water quality. KCM has set up systems to measure conductivity and pH at the Pollution Control Dam (PCD). The data from this will assist KCM to employ targeted and tailored mitigation measures.

· Restoration (desilting) of streams: Desilting of the Muntimpa and Chingola streams has started. While a  study is ongoing to guide the long-term investment and action to be taken towards restoring Mushishima, Muntimpa, and Chingola streams over the next 5 years

· Noise Pollution to community around the smelter: Following feedback from the community, KCM has initiated measures to reduce noise pollution from the Nchanga smelter. KCM is installing noise reduction measures at its East Mills and sound deflectors will be installed to minimize noise concerns at Nchanga North Hospital within the next few months.

· Restoration of mined sites: KCM recently planted 2,000 elite Pongamia Pinnata trees on a four-hectare overburden site at tailings dump number 2, as part of the pilot programme to determine the viability of producing bio-diesel from the trees while using them to restore degraded mining sites. This will create at least 1,000 jobs outside of mining and most importantly revegetate the land to enhance soil fertility and inhibit soil erosion.

KCM’s Going Green campaign draws heavily on the philosophy of its major investor, Vedanta Resources plc, catering as it does for the Planet and People to ensure Prosperity. It’s a commitment that goes beyond compliance to provide environmental leadership. The purpose is to accelerate the journey to a clean environment – upholding ZEMA standards and fulfilling Vedanta’s sustainability vision.

The launch of the Going Green campaign earlier this year marks the start of a journey to make KCM’s mining operations a source of pride for the nation and to reclaim Chingola’s place as the greenest and cleanest town in Zambia.