Petra Diamonds' statement on settlement of human rights claim at its Tanzanian subsdiary
" Settlement of human rights claims at Williamson Diamond Mine, Tanzania"
Petra Diamonds Limited...confirms that a settlement has been reached, on a no admission of liability basis, in relation to claims brought in London (“the Claims”) by Leigh Day, a UK based law firm, on behalf of 71 anonymous claimants, in relation to alleged breaches of human rights, associated with third-party security operations, at the Williamson Mine (“the Mine”) in Tanzania. The Mine is operated by Williamson Diamonds Limited (“WDL”), which is 25% owned by the Government of Tanzania and 75% owned by Petra. The agreed total settlement figure is £4.3 million, which includes the sum to be distributed to the claimants by Leigh Day, a contribution to the claimants’ legal expenses, and significant funds that Petra has committed to invest in programmes dedicated to providing long-term sustainable support to the communities living around the Mine.
The agreement also includes a framework pursuant to which an additional payment will be made by Petra in respect of up to 25 additional potential claimants who have come forward during the final stages of the settlement negotiations.
Following its investigation, Petra acknowledges that past incidents have taken place that regrettably resulted in the loss of life, injury and the mistreatment of illegal diggers, within the WDL Special Mining Licence area (“SML”). The incidents in question involved WDL’s third- party security provider Zenith Security as well as the Tanzanian Police Force (“TPF”). During the investigation, no evidence emerged that WDL personnel were directly involved in these actions.