JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Subsistence miners who trespassed onto Petra Diamonds’ Williamson mine in Tanzania were detained, beaten, shot, and in some cases killed by security personnel, UK-based non-governmental organisation RAID said in a report on Thursday.
The report, based on research conducted between September 2019 and November 2020, alleges that security contractors and security employees of Petra’s subsidiary Williamson Diamonds Limited (WDL) used excessive force against unarmed Tanzanians.
“We have 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,” RAID said.
“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, who owns 75% of WDL. Tanzania owns the remaining stake.
An investigation is being carried out by a specialist external adviser, Petra Diamonds said, adding that it has appointed an external consultancy to assess WDL’s management of its security.
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 CEO Richard Duffy said in a letter to RAID dated Oct. 13.
Professor Simon Msanjila, a permanent secretary at Tanzania’s Ministry of Minerals, said he cannot comment on the report as yet.
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 the 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.
Separately, UK-based law firm Leigh Day filed a claim in the High Court of England and Wales on Sept. 9 on behalf of more than 30 Tanzanians, who alleged ‘abuse of human rights’ at the Williamson mine.
The claims have not yet been served on either Petra or WDL.
The Williamson mine, which has been active since 1940, is located in Shinyanga – one of the poorest regions of Tanzania. A 54.5-carat pink diamond presented to Queen Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947 came from Williamson.
The mine has been shut since April, when Petra – which also operates diamond mines in South Africa – put it on “care and maintenance” after the coronavirus pandemic caused rough diamond prices to plunge.
(Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
