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Kabwe Mine

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Lat/Long:
-14.46, 28.43
Country:
Zambia
Classifications:
Homo, Homo heidelbergensis
Time periods:
Chibanian
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The Kabwe mine or Broken Hill mine is a former lead smelting and mining site near Kabwe, Zambia, that operated from 1906 to 1994. At its peak, between 1925 and 1974, it was owned by Anglo American plc and was Africa's largest lead producer. The mine produced extremely toxic lead pollution for ninety years. Several studies have confirmed that over 100,000 people near the mine, including tens of thousands of children, suffer from lead poisoning. Kabwe is one of the world's most polluted towns.

In 1921, a "bone cave" that included a fossilised human skull called Kabwe 1 was discovered in the mine. This fossil was the first remains of an extinct human relative to be found in Africa. The skull was studied by Arthur Smith Woodward of the British Museum of Natural History, who published a paper naming the new human precursor Homo rhodesiensis. Study of the Kabwe skull has had important implications for understanding of human evolution and prehistory.

The mine was privatised and closed by the Zambian government in 1995. In 2021, there were still about five million tons of mine tailings on the site, and the Zambian government had licensed reprocessing of this waste and further mining by the South African company Jubilee Metals. The area is also mined by artisanal miners. All of these activities pose ongoing health risks for local communities by releasing additional lead.

In July 2021, UN special rapporteurs urged the Zambian government to remediate the toxic site. Human rights and environmental organisations also urged the government to address the pollution and resulting health problems in local communities. A lawsuit against Anglo American concerning the pollution was ongoing in South Africa in 2023.

Specimens

Age MinAge Max
Kabwe 1Cranium274000324000