Villagers from farming and fishing communities in Zambia are taking legal action against Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals (FQM) claiming the company effectively forced them to leave their villages and resettle in areas where they face severe hardship and poverty. The community members claim FQM failed to comply with Zambian law and international standards on resettlement when they were resettled to areas outside FQM’s new mining areas.
People living near the Kansanshi and Sentinel mines in Zambia’s North Western Province say that since 2005 thousands of local residents have involuntarily left their homes near Kansanshi mine with up to 4,000 others living near the Sentinel mine allegedly being forced to leave since 2012.
FQM is the overall owner of the two mines and has publicly taken responsibility for policies governing the resettlement of communities. The mines have grown dramatically since the company started operating in the country in 2005, generating combined profits of around half a billion dollars last year. Local people claim the rapid expansion of the mines has “forced” families from their traditional and cultural homes, leaving many to live in poverty with little or no access to traditional sources of food and income.
FQM, which last year made annual profits of $1.3bn, is officially registered in Vancouver in Canada, but the Zambian communities will claim that the case should be heard in the English courts as relevant policies implemented at the Zambian mines are devised in England. It is the world’s sixth largest copper producer and also mines gold and nickel in Zambia.
The potential claimants, whose families descend mostly from indigenous communities who have lived in the North Western Province for generations, say they have been resettled to unsuitable areas without alternative farming land being provided or compensation being given for the loss of arable farming or communal land. Locals traditionally built homes, gathered wild fruit, hunted, fished, and grew food on land owned under Zambia’s customary tenure. Much of this land has now been fenced off and surrounded by barbed wire as a result of the expanded mining operations in the area.
Testimony heard by the communities’ legal team at Leigh Day includes allegations of:
Households forced to relocate without free, prior or informed consent
Razor wire being installed to prevent families from accessing farming land
Homes demolished before families had fully packed their belongings or received compensation
Farmers left in a poverty trap, with little to no access to land resulting in diminished or no harvests
Remaining communities leaving in fear and anxiety of the imminent loss of their homes due to planned future expansion at the mines
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Leigh Day lawyers are engaged in correspondence with lawyers hired by First Quantum Minerals as part of the pre-action stage of legal proceedings.
The residents are being represented by partner Benjamin Croft and solicitor, Walker Syachalinga from Leigh Day’s international department.
Leigh Day solicitor Walker Syachalinga said:
“Resettled communities in Solwezi and Kalumbila say they have had their livelihoods devastated as a result of FQM’s resettlement. We believe the resettlement breaches Zambia’s Constitution and its laws on land ownership, mining and the environment. Despite FQM’s public statements to the contrary, we believe the resettlement has also failed to comply with international standards which it says it complies with. Our clients believe they have been treated appallingly and are calling for action to right these wrongs.”
