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A miner in Mrito, Tanzania, uses mercury and water on a
wooden bench to search for flecks of gold in rock powder
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Tanzanian villagers are suing two African gold mining companies after six people were killed by police and others injured.
On Monday, Leigh Day, the London law firm, served a claim on behalf of 12 villagers against African Barrick Gold (ABG), one of Africa's largest mining companies, and North Mara Gold Mine (NMGM), to highlight the allegedly serious human rights situation at the mine.
The
claim alleges that the companies are liable for the deaths and injuries
of villagers, including the killing of at least six men by police.
According
to Leigh Day, villagers often try to gather rocks in the vicinity of
the mine in the hope of finding small amounts of gold. "Police, which
are an integral part of the mine's security, allegedly shoot at the
villagers using tear gas and live ammunition," said Richard Meeran, a
partner at the law firm.
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| Magige Ghati Kesabo, whose son was allegedly shot and killed by police on 16 May 2011. |
The claims relate to several incidents, including one in which five
men were shot dead in May 2011. The villagers allege the mine and NMGM,
which are operated by African Barrick Gold,
"failed to curb the use of excessive force at the mine, including
deadly force used by police on a regular basis over a protracted period
of time".
Meeran said: "Unfortunately, these are not
isolated incidents. We are aware of dozens of other instances in which
local people have been seriously injured or killed by police at ABG's
mine."
ABG, owned by Toronto-based Barrick Gold, the
world's largest gold-mining company, said it was saddened by any injury
or loss of life at its operations "but we will not compensate
illegitimate claims or lawsuits".
It added: "The majority
of the claims in this case originate from an incident [which] involved
violent intruders who invaded the mine in the course of committing
criminal acts. After receiving repeated warnings of the risks associated
with such activities, some of these intruders were injured by members
of the Tanzanian police acting in self-defence or in defence of the
safety of mine employees.
"A small number of additional
claims have been brought by intruders who illegally entered the mine on
other occasions. In the event any legal proceedings are pursued, ABG
will vigorously defend itself against all the claims. While some local
people conduct legitimate artisanal mining in areas near North Mara, of
greater concern is highly organised trespass on to the mine site, often
involving hundreds or even thousands of illegal, armed and violent
intruders systematically stealing gold-bearing rocks and other property
from the mine."
Lawyers at Leigh Day said many local villagers, who face extreme
poverty despite living on gold-rich ground, have in effect been
"silenced" by the mine.
The mine, which employs more than 2,000 people, has had a troubled history,
with allegations of pollution and calls for it to be closed. In 2008,
200 local people broke into the site and destroyed approximately $15m of
Barrick property.
Two years ago, Barrick announced that
ABG had launched a full investigation into what it called "credible"
allegations of sexual assault at the mine but the results of the
investigation were not released.
Meanwhile, Vedanta faces further protests this week in London, Odisha and Delhi in the runup to the FTSE 100 company's annual meeting. Its plan to mine a mountain sacred to the Dongria Kondh tribe in Odisha has triggered mass protests and the Church of England, among others, withdrawing investments.
The supreme court of India ruled in April that the decision on the Niyamgiri mine should be taken by village meetings. Seven of the 12 meetings
have been held, and each has registered a unanimous "no" to the
project, which makes it look likely that the mine may be cancelled,
losing Vedanta a $7bn investment. The final meeting will be on 19
August.
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