Top accreditor of gold refiners sued over alleged human rights abuse (updated)

MMTC

13/12/2022 10:45

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      Two men allegedly killed at gold mine in Tanzania
    

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      LBMA continued to accredit refinery taking the mine's gold
    

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      Accreditation gives refinery access to London bullion
market
    

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      Miner, refiner, LBMA deny wrongdoing
    

  
 (Adds quotes from Barrick CEO)
    By Peter Hobson
       LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A British law firm said on
Tuesday it had brought a case against the world's most important
accreditor of gold refineries for renewing a refiner's
certification despite alleged human rights abuses at a mine
supplying it with gold. 
    The law firm, Leigh Day, filed the case in London's High
Court against the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), an
industry body whose rules for gold refineries require that they
source gold responsibly. 
    The firm is representing the families of two artisanal
miners allegedly killed in 2019 by security personnel at the
North Mara gold mine in Tanzania. 
    LBMA certification prohibits refiners from handling gold
from sources contributing to human rights abuses, conflict,
crime or environmental degradation.
    "There is a long and troubling history of allegations of
human rights abuses committed against local people in and around
the mine," Leigh Day said. 
    "However, the LBMA continued (and continues) to issue a
'Responsible Gold Certificate' to the company which refines the
gold."     
    The LBMA, which began accrediting the refiner, MMTC-PAMP, in
2014, said it believed the case had no merit because its rules
were clear and had been followed. 
    North Mara's owner, Canadian mining firm Barrick Gold
 ABX.TO , said that since assuming operational control of North
Mara from a subsidiary in 2019, it had "invited and worked with
numerous national and local NGOs, appointed numerous independent
human rights specialists, as well as undertaken third-party
independent assessments". 
    It said it had acted on assessors' recommendations and that
a review by the LBMA of sourcing from the mine had not found any
"zero-tolerance" violations of its rules. "Barrick continues to
operate transparently and responsibly," it added.
    MMTC-PAMP, which is in India, said it stood by its due
diligence procedures. 
    The refiner said it had hired Synergy Global Consulting to
visit North Mara in 2020 and 2022 and shared a summary of a
report by Synergy from September which said management of risks
and security forces had improved at North Mara, and recommended
MMTC-PAMP continue to work with the mine. 
    Synergy did not respond to a request for comment.
    POLICE
    Locals living around North Mara often enter its territory to
dig for rocks containing a little gold, which they process and
sell, according to a letter of claim issued by Leigh Day and
seen by Reuters. 
    The case alleges that the two artisanal miners, both aged
23, went to the mine to dig gold and were shot by security
guards or police, dying from their wounds. 
    Reuters could not independently confirm this version of
events. 
    Leigh Day, which is working with UK-based corporate watchdog
RAID, said Barrick provided money and other support to police
stationed at North Mara, and that these police clearly worked on
behalf of the mine or in accordance with its instructions. 
    Barrick said it did provide police with some support but
denied controlling or directing them. "The Tanzanian Police
Force operates under its own chain of command and makes its own
decisions ... for RAID, Leigh Day, or any other organization to
suggest otherwise is simply not true," the company said. 
    It said its agreement with the police incorporates human
rights principles and prohibits the provision of weapons. It
said its own security personnel are unarmed. 
        Barrick chief Mark Bristow said in a statement the
company was proud of its human rights record and relationship
with local communities but the mine was under constant threat. 
  
        "There are rogue bands, armed and well-organised, who
from time to time invade North Mara to steal gold-bearing rock,"
he said. The statement did not say whether the two miners at the
centre of the lawsuit were part of such bands.  
  
    Barrick has faced several lawsuits alleging violence by
security forces at North Mara, including one filed on Nov. 23 in
Canada claiming the firm was complicit in extrajudicial killings
by police, which Barrick denies. 
    LBMA accreditation is valuable for refiners and the mines
supplying them because it allows the gold they produce to trade
in the London market, the world's largest. Big banks that
dominate gold trading tend only to deal with gold from
LBMA-certified refiners. 
    The LBMA in a statement expressed its sympathy to the
families of anyone killed or injured mining gold in Tanzania but
said its certification "operates on transparent and
well-published principles that all refiners must follow." 
    "Failure to comply with the LBMA rules results either in
suspension or removal," the LBMA said.
 (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Catherine Evans and Jon
Boyle)
 ((Peter.hobson@thomsonreuters.com))