Anglo American may soon be compelled to defend itself anew against accusations of lead pollution in Zambia, following a high court ruling permitting the litigants to appeal a prior judgment favouring the global resources conglomerate.
On Friday, the high court in Johannesburg granted litigants from Kabwe in Zambia rights to appeal a dismissal of their earlier application in respect of lead pollution from the town against Anglo American.
Leigh Day and Mbuyisa Moleele - UK and South Africa-based law firms respectively - are representing the Zambian claimants in the case against Anglo American which dates back five years ago.
On August 23, 2019, the law firms announced an intention to bring a class action lawsuit against Anglo American South Africa on behalf of claimants in Kabwe, a town located in central Zambia.
According to Mbuyisa Moleele, tens of thousands of children and women of child-bearing age in Kabwe allege that they have been poisoned by lead left behind by the Kabwe Mine, formerly known as the Broken Hill Mine, which was within the Anglo-American Group for almost 50 years.
Mbuyisa Moleele argues that evidence shows that Anglo American was aware of widespread lead poisoning of local children and the environment, while it was involved in managing and providing technical advice relating to medical and environmental operations of the mine.
Lead poisoning can cause serious and often irreversible permanent damage to organs and the neurological system.
Anglo American has expressed sympathy for the people of Kabwe, the pollution the town experiences and any harm that may have come from it. Contamination is not acceptable anywhere.
However, it argues that it is not responsible for the lead pollution as it only had a minority stake in the mine between 1925 and 1974.
Anglo American argues that these allegations date back to more than 50 years ago between 1925 and 1974 when it was involved in the Kabwe mine via an indirect minority shareholding (of ±10%) in the company that operated the mine: Zambia Broken Hill Development Company Limited (ZBHDC), today known as ZCCM.
The mine was nationalised in 1971 and operated by ZCCM and its predecessor companies for 20 years to 1994, when it was closed.
According to Anglo American, subsequent to closure, uncontrolled mining, processing activity and unabated pollution from numerous other mineral processing and smelting operations and artisanal miners in Kabwe has continued to the present day.
“Anglo American will oppose any appeal that may follow,” it said yesterday.
“As Anglo American has stated throughout, it has every sympathy for the situation in Kabwe, but is not responsible for it. Anglo American has stated from the outset that this claim is entirely misconceived.”
Anglo American said it had taken note of the decision by the high court to grant the claimants the right to appeal against the prior high court judgment that dismissed the application for certification of a class action brought against it by the two law firms.
“The high court dismissed the certification application in December 2023 after almost a year of deliberation, clearly highlighting the claim’s multiple legal and factual flaws and deeming it not in the interest of justice for the class action to proceed,” said Anglo American.
It added that the grant of the right to appeal was “simply a recognition by the high court that an appeal to another court is a viable option for the claimants to follow” under South African legal processes.
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