Zambia has lifted a ban on the country's largest copper mine, imposed after its leaching plant polluted water supplies for over 50,000 nearby residents, an official said Saturday. The government allowed the Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) to resume full operations after it introduced new safety measures, said Edward Zulu, the head of the government's environmental law body.
"We have conducted inspections of the company and the pollution control dam. We are satisfied that management and staff of KCM has put in place remedial measures," Zulu said.
Zulu, who heads the Environmental Council of Zambia, said a pollution control licence for KCM, which was withdrawn, has been reinstated.
The government last week announced that it would prosecute KCM for polluting a river which supplies water to residents in the nearby town of Chingola.
KCM, which is run by the Indian mining firm Vedanta, announced last week that it was recording daily loses of 2.6 million dollars following the closure of its key mining location in Zambia's copperbelt.
KCM runs four mines of which Nchanga, situated in Chingola near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, being the largest.
