Zijin Mining to face court case on tailings dam accident

Zijin Mining to face court case on tailings dam accident

Reuters

15 March 2011

Hong Kong - The Zijin Mining Group, one of China's biggest gold producers, has been told by the Guangdong Province Xinyi City People's Court that it will hear a case started by 850 villagers against the company.

Zijin Mining is being sued for 170 million yuan ($25.8 million) after a tailing dam collapsed and killed 22 people last year, the official Xinhua news agency said in a report last month.

A total of 523 homes were destroyed in Xinyi in the south eastern province of Guangdong in September last year after the tailing dam at a tin mine collapsed under the onslaught of a typhoon.

A government investigation into the disaster in December placed the blame firmly on the company, which was accused of breaching dam construction regulations.

In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Zijin said it should not be held liable for the fact that it is a shareholder of Xinyi Zijin and that it would defend itself against legal proceedings.

(Reporting by Vikram S.Subhedar; Editing by Will Waterman)