(Adds respone from Tanzanian official)
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Petra Diamonds said
it was investigating allegations by a British non-governmental
organisation that subsistence miners who trespassed on the
firm's Williamson mine in Tanzania were detained, beaten and
shot at, killing at least seven of them.
The RAID report, based on research conducted between
September 2019 and November 2020, alleged that security
contractors and security employees of Petra's subsidiary
Williamson Diamonds Limited (WDL) used excessive force.
Petra Diamonds told Reuters a specialist external adviser
was conducting an investigation and said an external consultancy
had been appointed to assess WDL's management of its security.
"The board of Petra Diamonds finds the allegations of human
rights abuses at the Williamson mine in Tanzania to be deeply
concerning and is taking the matter extremely seriously," said
Petra Diamonds, which owns 75% of WDL. The state owns the rest.
It said the investigation would be completed by the end of
2020.
Simon Msanjila, a permanent secretary at Tanzania's Ministry
of Minerals, told Reuters he had not seen the RAID report and
could not comment on it.
WDL has suspended the mine chief security officer and the
support services manager, an interim measure taken "whether or
not there is any substance in the allegations", Petra Chief
Executive Richard Duffy said in a letter to RAID dated Oct. 13.
In its report, RAID said it had "found evidence indicating
that since Petra Diamonds acquired the Williamson Mine in 2009,
there have been at least seven killings and 41 assaults of local
residents, many leading to life-changing injuries."
Zenith Security Services Ltd, the security contractor named
in the report, did not respond to a Reuters request via email
for comment.
The allegations highlight tensions caused when mining
companies co-exist with communities who rely on subsistence
mining to supplement their income, as in other parts of Tanzania
and across resource-rich countries in Africa.
Subsistence or "artisanal" miners, who typically use
rudimentary techniques, number around 40 million worldwide,
according to a 2019 estimate by Delve, an artisanal mining
database.
Britain-based law firm Leigh Day had filed a claim in the
High Court of England and Wales in September on behalf of more
than 30 Tanzanians who alleged "abuse breaches of human rights
at the Williamson mine," Petra previously said.
The Williamson mine, active since 1940, is in Shinyanga, one
of Tanzania's poorest regions. It produced a 54.5-carat pink
diamond presented to Queen Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947.
The mine has been shut since April, when Petra put it on
"care and maintenance" after the coronavirus pandemic caused
rough diamond prices to plunge. Petra also operates mines in
South Africa.
(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and
Edmund Blair)
Petra Diamonds (PDL)
