Full Disclosure 2016

Environmental non-compliances reported by affected communities, the media, & NGOs

2016 update

In May 2016, a landmark judgment was handed down by the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Local Division) in the case of Nkala and others v Harmony Gold and Others.¹ The matter involved the certification of a class of 500 000 miners who contracted tuberculosis and silicosis during the course of their employment. This certification allows these miners to bring a class action law suit to seek damages from the mining companies at which they are, or have previously been, employed.²

The matter was brought against 32 mining companies, including AngloGold. The applicants allege that the companies have breached a number of their legal and constitutional duties to the miners, including their right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing.³

AngloGold is one of six of the respondent mining companies which applied for leave to appeal the judgment. In the High Court leave to appeal was denied in respect of the certification of the applicants as a class. However, leave to appeal in respect of the certification was subsequently granted by the Supreme Court of Appeal in September 2016.⁴

Full Disclosure 2015

In a 2011 report entitled ‘Uranium from Africa’, published by the Netherlands-based Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, AngloGold’s management of tailings dams was questioned and it was noted that there were no concrete or other layers under the tailings dams (which would prevent seepage and resulting pollution). When this was put to AngloGold, a spokesperson for the company made comments about finding a new destination after processing and reprocessing of the tailings dams, and stated that while the land could not be used for farming it could be used for industrial purposes.⁵ The report noted that no further information could be found regarding tailings dams management, nor could much information be found on issues such as water, biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions in relation to AngloGold.⁶

In late 2013, it was reported that a toxic waste spill from the Mine Waste Solutions unit of the company had affected 1.6 kilometres of a tributary of the Vaal River and that this had been at least the second spillage from this unit in 5 months.⁷ The company claimed that the spillage “could be detrimental to flora and fauna but not to human life”. The South African non-profit organisation the Federation for a Sustainable Environment said that leakages from the company’s tailings dam in Stilfontein were spilling onto an area of dolomitic rock which affects groundwater and could contaminate the Vaal River, which poses a serious health risk. The FSE said that the dangers were evidenced by the death of grazing cattle as a result of radioactive contamination.⁸ Charges were laid against the company.⁹

It was also reported in May 2014 that the Public Protector had begun an investigation into allegations of water pollution made against a number of companies, including AngloGold, and that a complaint had been made against AngloGold’s Mine Waste Solutions unit.¹⁰

In 2012, the Council on Ethics of the Norwegian ‘Government Pension Fund Global’ recommended the exclusion of AngloGold from the investment universe of the pension fund due in part to severe environmental damage caused by the company in Ghana.¹¹ The environmental damage caused by the company in Ghana also contributed to the company being awarded the ‘Public Eye Award’ in 2011, a ‘shame award’ given to the company with the worst environmental and social offences worldwide.¹²