LBMA to defend duty-of-care claim in London High Court over Tanzania mine

The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the world's most influential accreditor of gold refineries, will appear at London's High Court on October 7 to contest a claim that it owed a duty of care to the families of two artisanal miners killed at Tanzania's North Mara gold mine.

The claim was filed in 2022 by the British law firm Leigh Day on behalf of the families of two Tanzanian nationals. The first phase of the trial is scheduled to conclude on November 9, with closing submissions set for November 19-20.

The allegations

The claimants, who have been granted anonymity, seek to establish that the two artisanal miners were killed in July and December 2019 by members of the Tanzanian police force, private security guards, or both. The allegations could not be independently verified, and representatives of Tanzania's government and police did not respond to requests for comment.

Barrick Mining, the world's third-largest gold producer, took operational control of North Mara in September 2019 after acquiring Acacia Mining. Barrick holds 84% of the mine, with the Tanzanian government owning the remaining 16%. Barrick declined to comment.

According to the company's 2024 sustainability report, North Mara has faced repeated trespassing by armed groups seeking to steal gold-bearing material. The mine's unarmed private security provider could request assistance from Tanzanian police when life was threatened, but neither Barrick nor the mine operator controls or supervises the police, the report said. In 2024, Barrick said an investigation by Tanzania's Commission on Human Rights and Good Governance had found no human rights violations related to security at the mine.

The LBMA's role

The LBMA maintains the Good Delivery List, the global standard for wholesale gold and silver bars. Only bars on the list are eligible for settlement in the London over-the-counter bullion market, the world's largest. The list prohibits refineries from handling gold from sources that contribute to human rights abuses, conflict or crime.

The claimants allege the LBMA was negligent in continuing to accredit India-based refiner MMTC-PAMP, which refined gold from North Mara in 2019, despite alleged human rights abuses linked to the mine. They argue that suspending or threatening to suspend MMTC-PAMP's accreditation could have pressured the refinery, Acacia and later Barrick to stop the alleged abuses by Tanzanian police.

The LBMA says it acted appropriately and in line with its rules and OECD guidance, relying on MMTC-PAMP's compliance reporting and independent audits of that compliance. It rejects the claim, arguing it misconstrues its role as an industry body that accredits refiners, not mines, and says any loss of life is a tragedy.

MMTC-PAMP, a joint venture between Switzerland-based MKS PAMP and state-owned Indian trading company MMTC Ltd, is India's only LBMA-accredited refiner. The company said it rigorously follows the LBMA's Responsible Gold and Silver Guidance, with compliance confirmed annually by an independent third-party audit, and that it no longer sources gold from North Mara.