South Africa's High Court has ruled that a class action lawsuit against miner Anglo American brought by victims of alleged historic lead poisoning in Zambia should not go ahead, lawyers for the claimants said on Saturday.
Victims of the alleged poisoning had accused Anglo's South African unit of negligence in controlling emissions of lead into the local environment at a mine it part-owned 50 years ago in Zambia's Kabwe district.
Anglo has previously denied the allegations a nd vowed to defend itself.
Anglo partly owned the Kabwe lead mine some 50 years ago. The mine was later owned by Zambian state-owned firm ZCCM-IH until 1994 when it was closed.
Victims to appeal
In a statement, lawyers for the claimants said the Johannesburg High Court had ruled in a 126-page judgment delivered on Friday evening that a claim against Anglo American South Africa (AASA) over widespread lead poisoning across Kabwe, Zambia, could not proceed as a class action.
The victims will appeal the ruling, the lawyers said.
South African law firm Mbuyisa Moleele and UK-based Leigh Day, acting on behalf of about 140,000 women and children of Kabwe, want Anglo held liable for failing to curb lead emissions from a smelter and waste dumps.
They also allege that Anglo was aware, before 1974, of the environmental damage and lead poisoning, including deaths of local children, and had ignored expert advice to remedy the situation before it handed over the assets to ZCCM-IH.
