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Sino-Metals Leach Zambia

Zambia Ordered a Mining Company to Pay Villagers After a Toxic Waste Spill. The Firm Made Them Sign Away Their Rights First

China’s Sino-Metals Leach Zambia spilled toxic sludge into communities and rivers, an accident that could cost billions to clean up and restore. The firm got impoverished and often illiterate villagers to sign away their right to sue in exchange for government-ordered payments ranging from $17 to $2,000.

By Katie Surma

A landscape in Zambia 12 weeks after Sino-Metals spilled toxic waste laced with heavy metals including lead, arsenic and uranium. Credit: Katie Surma/Inside Climate News

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