Top Accreditor of Gold Refiners (LBMA) Sued Over Alleged Human Rights Abuse

[searcher]

Top accreditor of gold refiners sued over alleged human rights abuse​

Story by By Peter Hobson • 1h ago

LONDON (Reuters) -A British law firm said on Tuesday it had brought a case against the world's most important accreditor of gold refineries for renewing a refiner's certification despite alleged human rights abuses at a mine supplying it with gold.

The law firm, Leigh Day, filed the case in London's High Court against the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), an industry body whose rules for gold refineries require that they source gold responsibly.

The firm is representing the families of two artisanal miners allegedly killed in 2019 by security personnel at the North Mara gold mine in Tanzania.

LBMA certification prohibits refiners from handling gold from sources contributing to human rights abuses, conflict, crime or environmental degradation.

Read the rest here:

Top accreditor of gold refiners sued over alleged human rights abuse

 

[Farpdinkle]

Good catch, Searcher. Let me translate the bottom line:

The price of gold is going up.

 

[pmbug]

I seem to remember seeing a similar news post from a long time ago about accusations of the LBMA sourcing gold from miners accused of human rights abuses, but am not having much luck finding it this morning.

 

[pmbug]

LBMA released it's 2023 Annual Report and they talk a good bit about efforts to "reinforce the narrative on Responsible Sourcing":

Chairman’s Message

www.lbma.org.uk

The section of the report dedicated to the issue is here:

Sustainability and Responsible Sourcing

www.lbma.org.uk

 

[pmbug]

also... updates on the Leigh Day lawsuit...

August 2023:

The legal issues raised by this case centre on whether a certification body, like the LBMA, can be held legally responsible for a flawed certification process which causes or contributes to ongoing human rights abuses.

The claim, filed in the High Court in London in December 2022, has now been served by the families of two artisanal miners. ...

More:

Legal action served against LBMA after alleged human rights abuses at Tanzanian gold mine | Leigh Day

A legal case has been served on the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) alleging that it is wrongly certifying gold from a mine in Africa as being free from serious human rights abuses.

www.leighday.co.uk

 

[Voodoo]

LBMA released it's 2023 Annual Report and they talk a good bit about efforts to "reinforce the narrative on Responsible Sourcing":

Chairman’s Message

www.lbma.org.uk

The section of the report dedicated to the issue is here:

Sustainability and Responsible Sourcing

www.lbma.org.uk

Forget these aholes.

 

[pmbug]

Forget these aholes.

I understand your sentiment, but this lawsuit and potential changes to LBMA certification processes could have an impact on global gold (mining) production, so I think it's worth keeping an eye on.