A R100 Million Grant & A Legacy of Dust: Calls Grow for UK to Halt Anglo American Funding

As the British government prepares to grant mining giant Anglo American a substantial R100 million for a community development project, a chorus of South African civil society groups is raising a stark objection: how can the UK fund the company’s future initiatives when it stands accused of blocking compensation for its past harms?

The funding is earmarked for Anglo American’s Impact Finance Network (IFN), aimed at fostering sustainable investment in southern Africa. But for groups like Justice For Miners (JFM), the timing and recipient could not be more jarring. They argue that Anglo American has been instrumental in making the compensation process for ex-miners who contracted silicosis and tuberculosis “bureaucratic, complicated and inaccessible.”

The Unsettled Settlement

The controversy stems from a landmark 2019 legal settlement in which Anglo American and five other mining companies agreed to pay R5 billion in compensation through the Tshiamiso Trust. Six years later, advocates claim a staggering 84% of eligible claimants and families have not been paid.

Catherine Meyburgh of JFM points a direct finger at Anglo American, alleging the company supports the Minerals Council SA’s position to reject existing Department of Health medical certificates as proof of illnessa move that creates a major hurdle for ageing and often impoverished claimants.

Questions in the House of Lords

The issue has reached the UK’s House of Lords. Veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Lord Peter Hain challenged the grant, asking, “Was any due diligence conducted into Anglo’s role in thousands of Southern African miners contracting TB and silicosis, and in the deliberate delaying of those miners receiving the compensation they won?”

He highlighted the contradiction of funding a project for “inclusive growth” while the company is “accused by communities around the world of working against that very aim.” In response, Minister of State Jenny Chapman did not confirm whether affected communities were consulted about the grant.

Anglo American’s Defense: The Trust is Independent

Anglo American has distanced itself from the claims process. In a statement, the company said the Tshiamiso Trust is an independent entity that designs its own procedures. “The six mining companies, including Anglo American, support the substantial work done by the trust to date,” it said, contesting the 84% figure and calling progress “substantial and meaningful.”

The Stakes: Justice Versus Investment

For activists, this is a fundamental issue of justice outweighing public relations. “Anglo claims to have contributed greatly to South Africa by creating jobs,” said Rachel Palma Randle of Action for Southern Africa. “Yet many former miners who worked at its mines contracted silicosis and TB.”

The debate poses a difficult question for the UK government: can it legitimately fund a corporate social investment arm of a company that stands accused of obstructing redress for its own historical social harm? For the thousands of miners still waiting, the answer will determine whether a R100 million grant for the future comes at the cost of burying the debts of the past.

{Source: Citizen}

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