Overview of the Litigation
- Legal proceedings were initiated in England and Wales against the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) on behalf of two Tanzanian individuals (p. 2).
- The lawsuit, brought by the British law firm Leigh Day, stems from the 2019 deaths of two 23-year-old artisanal miners at the North Mara Gold Mine in Tanzania (pp. 2, 4).
- The security forces at the mine, consisting of Tanzanian Police Force members and private security contractors, are alleged to have used disproportionate and excessive force (p. 2).
- The trial is scheduled to commence in October 2026 (with a conflicting note indicating a September 7 start date) and is expected to conclude by November 20, 2026 (pp. 2-3).
Claimants' Allegations and Arguments
- The families of the deceased allege that the LBMA wrongly certified gold from the North Mara mine as free from serious human rights abuses despite a long-standing, widely reported pattern of systematic abuses (p. 4).
- Claimants argue that if the LBMA had properly enforced its responsible sourcing programme, the mine would have been forced to stop the abuses, and their relatives would still be alive (p. 4).
- The North Mara mine is majority-owned by Barrick Gold Corporation, and its gold is refined by MMTC-PAMP, a Swiss-Indian refiner accredited by the LBMA in 2014 (p. 4).
LBMA's Defence and Position
- LBMA denies liability, asserting that the fatalities were not caused by and are not connected to its work, role, or responsibilities (p. 2).
- LBMA emphasizes that it is a London-based industry association rather than a business enterprise; it does not certify, operate, or oversee mines, nor does it have personnel in Tanzania (pp. 2-3).
- The association maintains that it acted reasonably based on available information, in alignment with its own rules and OECD guidelines (p. 2).
- Due to an anonymity order on the claims, LBMA is unable to investigate the factual basis of the alleged events (p. 2).
- LBMA has set aside a financial contingency of £3 million for the legal proceedings (p. 3).
Timeline and Procedural History
- The claim was filed in December 2022, and LBMA was served in August 2023 (p. 3).
- LBMA initially contested the jurisdiction of the English courts, arguing Tanzania was the appropriate forum, but withdrew this application in June 2024 (pp. 3-4).
- In December 2025, Leigh Day issued similar claims on behalf of 26 additional claimants and 5 potential claimants, which the court decided to address after the outcome of the October 2026 trial (p. 3).

Background details on the LBMA litigation that starts today 7th October. This is merely factual and expresses no opinion from either StoneX or Watchgold

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