Mining projects help improve lives

At the Golden Eagle Community School in Chililabombwe’s Konkola Township, in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, the difference is visible even before a single lesson begins. Children in uniform stream through the gates into classrooms that once lacked enough desks, space and basic facilities.

When the school began in 2001 as a community initiative, it was set up to support children whose parents could not afford school fees, offering access to education to those who might otherwise have been unable to attend.

For community leader George Katabulwe, the scene reflects years of gradual change. When the school started, it struggled with limited infrastructure, fewer teaching resources and low enrollment. Today, he says, improved facilities have transformed the learning environment, drawing more children into the school and reshaping expectations for families in the community.

“We had a lot of problems in keeping that school because we had no sponsors,” Katabulwe said. “We were struggling to find a building, desks and teachers.”

At the time, enrollment stood at about 250 learners, with limited infrastructure and only one trained teacher. Today, the school has more than 580 learners, according to Katabulwe, who credits the improved infrastructure and learning facilities to the Lubambe Copper Mine’s community investment programs led by the Chinese company JCHX Mining Management.

“The environment has changed,” he said. “Learners are now motivated. They are sitting at desks and learning in good classrooms.”

With an increasing number of Chinese companies taking root across Africa, driven by intensified economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, more Chinese firms have been actively contributing to local communities in different ways in recent years.

The changes visible at the Golden Eagle Community School reflect a broader pattern of corporate social responsibility initiatives undertaken by Chinese-linked mining companies, including Lubambe Copper Mine in Zambia and Sicomines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

From classroom construction and maternity facilities to water systems, roads and scholarship programs, the companies’ corporate social responsibility projects have made an impact that is increasingly visible in the everyday life of local residents.

In the DRC, residents near Kolwezi, a mining town, describe similar changes. For years, paying school fees and meeting household needs was a struggle for Rachide Mund Jethro, who lives in a community near a mining project of Sicomines, a joint venture company with Chinese investment.

He recalled the time when basic services such as clean water, schools and healthcare facilities were either not available or difficult to access. “Before, we did not have drinkable water, we did not have health facilities, and we did not have any schools,” he said.

Today, he says, schools, roads and wells have improved the living conditions for families in the area. “Our children have schools and we can access clean water.”

Jethro said before the health infrastructure was established by Sicomines, expectant mothers often struggled to access timely care, sometimes with tragic consequences.

“Before we didn’t have any health facilities and the mothers would lose their children,” he said. Today, he said, families are able to reach clinics easily, easing fears around childbirth.

Another resident, Kasongo Ndayi Jacques, said one of the most significant changes has been improved access to transport, education and healthcare.

He said students once had to walk long distances to overcrowded schools. “Now we have schools near us, good roads, some wells and good hospitals,” he said.

According to data shared by Sicomines, recent community investments in the DRC have focused on education, health, water and agricultural livelihoods.

Improved access

The company said student enrollment in supported areas has increased by 30 to 50 percent, while between 5,000 and 15,000 households now have improved access to clean water. Health facilities supported through the initiative are reported to serve between 10,000 and 20,000 patients annually.

In 2025, the company said it had expanded community investment projects in villages around its DRC operations, including support for schools, health facilities, roads, water access and agricultural training.

In Zambia, education remains one of the clearest indicators of the local impact of Chinese-led mining investment.

Pule Mlenga, head teacher at Konkola New Day High School in Zambia, said classroom blocks, desks and perimeter fencing supported by Lubambe have improved attendance and academic performance. “The pass rate has increased because learners are able to be found in school,” she said.

According to Mlenga, recent pass rates reached 84 percent among Grade 9 students and 86 percent among Grade 7 students.

At the school, educators say the support has also extended to food production and student welfare with Mlenga adding that maize grown through the school’s production unit has helped supplement meals for learners while generating income for school activities.

The initiative, she said, has contributed to improved attendance by ensuring students remain in school during the day.

For Willard Siame, the impact was personal. A recent graduate in environmental engineering from Copperbelt University in Zambia, Siame said a community scholarship supported by Lubambe Copper Mine enabled him to complete his studies and later gain practical industry experience through internships at the mine.

“This scholarship really helped me in my studies,” he said. “It made sure that I focused mostly on my academics.” He has since moved into professional work, contributing to environmental compliance and sustainability processes.

Skills development

His experience reflects a broader investment in local education and skills development.

According to Lubambe, its community programs over the past three years have included fully equipped classroom blocks, sanitation facilities, a maternity annex, school boreholes, road maintenance and agricultural livelihood support.

The company says learner enrollment in supported schools has increased by about 20 percent since the projects began, while pass rates have improved by 10 percent. Local clinics supported through the program serve an average of 200 patients each month, with maternal health services increasing by 20 percent.

Employment and livelihoods also form part of the broader community picture. Lubambe says approximately 3,000 Zambians have gained employment directly or indirectly through its operations and associated projects, with 95 percent of its workforce drawn from local communities.

In addition, agricultural support programs have helped schools and local cooperatives improve food production and generate supplementary income.

For head teacher Mlenga, the effects are visible not only in examination results but also in daily school life.

She said learners now remain in school longer, sanitation conditions have improved, and school feeding linked to agricultural plots has reduced absenteeism.

For families in Zambia and the DRC, the impact of mining investment is often measured not in production figures or company reports, but in the quiet changes in daily life.

It is seen in children learning in classrooms that once did not exist, in mothers reaching health facilities closer to home, and in households drawing clean water from wells built within their communities. For many residents, these are the changes that matter most — the small but lasting shifts that make everyday life more secure and the future a little more certain.

sharon@chinadailyafrica.com