Human rights

Background information

In May 2020, Leigh Day notified the Boards of Petra Diamonds Limited (“PDL”) and Williamson Diamonds Limited (“WDL”) that it had issued claim forms in the High Court of England and Wales on behalf of 32 anonymous individuals in relation to alleged breaches of human rights, personal injuries and deaths suffered at and surrounding the Mine, arising from the security operations. Additionally, in November 2020 RAID published a report outlining similar allegations, during the same period. Leigh Day subsequently expanded the number of anonymous claimants to 72 while RAID expanded the scope of their own allegations.

WDL and Petra have taken the human rights allegations mentioned above extremely seriously. They have sought to gain a full understanding of the allegations through an independent investigation, with the aim of supporting the provision of balanced and fair remedy, in the interest of all parties, and to put in place preventative measures. Petra formed an independent Board Sub-Committee comprised entirely of independent Non-executive Directors to oversee the matters and undertake an investigation into the allegations. The Sub-Committee was supported in its investigation by the specialist external investigator Control Risks, in conjunction with lawyers Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.

On 12 May 2021 Petra announced that it had reached a settlement, on a no admission of liability basis, in relation to claims brought in London by Leigh Day, on behalf of the anonymous claimants, in relation to alleged breaches of human rights, associated with third-party security operations, within the SML.

On 14 May 2025 Petra announced the sale of its entire shareholding in the entity that holds its interest in Williamson Diamonds Limited (WDL), together with all shareholder loans owed to Petra, to Pink Diamonds Investments Limited (Pink Diamonds) for a headline consideration of up to US$16 million.

This transaction was completed following the receipt of approval from the Tanzanian Fair Competition Commission. This transaction represented an important milestone, bringing the mine back under consolidated Tanzanian ownership.

Please see below Petra’s public disclosures regarding the allegations detailed above.

Please see below the responses Petra has sent to RAID regarding the allegations.

Additional Documents

On 7 November 2022, Petra announced the failure of the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) wall at Williamson which resulted in flooding away from the pit and extended into certain areas outside of the mine lease area.

Significant work has been undertaken to contain the failure, determine the extent of the social and environmental impact and carry out remediation. An investigation into the root cause of the incident is also underway.

Local Community

Whilst no fatalities or serious injuries were reported, the livelihoods of a number of community members were affected. A variety of short-term measures were initially taken, followed by an assessment of the impact on the surrounding communities and longer-term remediation measures. An Entitlement Framework has been developed that enables community members impacted by the TSF failure to be appropriately compensated, with Phase 1 and 2 compensation payments having been made.

Environment

Environmental work to date confirms the tailings material which flowed out of the TSF is inert. WDL has taken significant steps to carry out international best practice Environmental Assessments and continues to engage with Tanzania’s environmental regulator in this regard.

Technical and Production

A new TSF has been constructed, which received the required permits and complies with the GISTM standards. Production resumed at WDL in July 2023, with a steady ramp-up currently underway.

An investigation is being conducted to determine the root cause of the TSF failure, with the final report anticipated at the end of CY 2023.

Financial

Remediation costs relating to the incident were incurred during FY 2023 and additional costs will be incurred going forward. In FY 2023, US$8.3 million of costs have been incurred and a further US$2.4 million of costs, comprising management’s best estimate based on the current information available, have been provided for ongoing remediation costs. In addition, US$5.2 million of accelerated depreciation was recognised in the Year to fully write down assets damaged resulting from the TSF failure.

The remediation costs comprise establishing the root cause of the failure, humanitarian relief to the affected community, livelihood and environmental restoration and costs to repair.

Further information

Please refer to the Company’s FY 2023 Annual and Sustainability reports for more detailed information on the TSF failure and remediation process:

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Petra’s Tailings Management and its commitment to the Global International Standard on Tailings Management can be found here:

Learn more

For more information please see our updates below:

This page provides further information about the parcel of 71,654.54 carats from the Williamson mine in Tanzania, which is currently blocked from export.

On 13 December 2021, Petra announced that it had reached agreement on a Framework Agreement in principle with the Government of Tanzania relating to the operations of the Williamson mine. As part of the Framework Agreement, the Government of Tanzania has agreed to provide financial support to Williamson Diamonds Limited through the allocation of the proceeds of the sale of the blocked diamond parcel towards the restart of operations at the Williamson Mine.

This certificate was issued for the Williamson parcel by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals (Diamond and Gemstone Valuation Unit-TANSORT) in Tanzania. Note that the certificate refers to a ‘Provisional Value’ for the Williamson parcel, rather than a ‘Final Value’.

rther to the sealing of the parcel by the MEM (Ministry of Energy and Minerals) and the TMAA (Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency), a Kimberley Process certificate was issued on behalf of the United Republic of Tanzania by the Commissioner for Minerals at the Central Western Zone Office in Tanzania.

This is Petra’s consignment invoice which accompanies the parcel and confirms the conflict-free source of the diamonds. Note that the ‘Provisional Value’ and volume for the parcel matches those listed on the Diamond Valuation and Kimberley Process certificates. The invoice refers to seals by the TRA (Tanzania Revenue Authority) and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, as well as the Company’s own seals.

Receipts confirming the Company’s payment of the provisional royalty and associated fees relating to the diamond parcel.

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