“You'll Be Fired if You Refuse” - Human Rights Watch

Copper prices rose steadily from 2003 to 2008, before plummeting in 2008 to 2009 with
the global economic crisis. A number of workers in Zambia’s copper mining industry were
laid off, and several mines closed or threatened to close. 27 Prices recovered to previous
highs by late 2010 and, in early 2011, reached new records—selling at over $10,000 per
metric ton (see graph in Annex II). Current copper prices have led to further expansion of
Zambia’s copper industry, with several new mines recently opening or about to open.
Moreover, on July 1, 2011, the World Bank declared that Zambia had moved back to lowmiddle
income status. 28 As of 2009, Zambia was the world’s eighth-largest copper
producer, and, with the recent growth, it is predicted to enter the top five by 2014. 29
Through its long history in copper mining, Zambia developed strong mining regulations
and labor laws. A professor at Zambia’s Copperbelt University who specializes in the
industry, told Human Rights Watch that following a serious mining accident in 1970 at the
Mufulira mine, the Zambian government adopted extensively from Canadian mining
regulations. As a result, he said, almost every activity underground—from the equipment
miners are supposed to wear in certain sections, to the employment of safety officers, to
relevant safety procedures—is tightly regulated under law. 30 Godwin Beene, the permanent
secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, likewise said:
In Zambian mining, whether open-cast or underground, the industry is
regulated tightly by mine safety regulations. If there are any abuses of
those regulations, the actors can be punished…. We are a country well
versed in mining, and no one is above the law. 31
The tight regulation of the Zambian copper industry should protect its workers from
companies with poor safety practices—unfortunately, this has not been the case with the
Chinese-run mines.
27 Muchimba, The Zambian Mining Industry, pp. 17-18.
28 Charles Kenny and Andy Sumner, “How 28 poor countries escaped the poverty trap,” Guardian (UK), July 12, 2011.
29 Leia Michele Toovey, “The Top 10 Copper Producing Countries,” Copper Investing News, November 17, 2010,
http://copperinvestingnews.com/4147/the-top-10-copper-producing-countries/; Miningreview.com, “Zambia set to enter
world’s top five copper producers,” July 12, 2011, http://www.miningreview.com/node/19655; Nicholas Bariyo, “Zambia’s
January Copper Output Up 60% On Year-Central Bank,” Dow Jones Newswires, March 2, 2011. Zambia is also in the top five
for cobalt production. See Muchimba, p. 3.
30 Human Rights Watch interview with John Lungu, professor at Copperbelt University, Kitwe, November 16, 2010.
31 Human Rights Watch interview with Godwin Beene, Lusaka, July 18, 2011.
19 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011