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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) faces a UK High Court claim over allegations that it wrongly certified gold linked to Tanzania’s North Mara mine as responsibly sourced. The claim raises questions about whether a private standards body can be legally responsible for how it applies a certification process. It is not a court finding that the LBMA is liable, nor evidence that the bullion market faces an established threat.
What is the North Mara case about?
Families of two Tanzanian artisanal miners who died in separate incidents in 2019 brought a claim against the LBMA. They allege that the association wrongly certified gold sourced from North Mara as meeting responsible-sourcing standards despite serious human-rights allegations linked to the mine, and that the LBMA failed to apply its standards properly. These are the families’ allegations, not findings made by a court. Leigh Day, the claimants’ lawyers, describes the case as concerning “clean gold” certification.
The defendant is the LBMA, an industry association that sets standards for the London precious-metals market. It is not the operator of the North Mara mine. The legal question is whether the association’s role in setting and applying responsible-sourcing standards gives rise to a duty of care in these circumstances—not whether the LBMA directly operated the mine or its security forces. The LBMA says it did not cause the deaths and denies that it owed or breached the alleged duty. Its position statement describes its role as promoting standards and responsible-sourcing practices, rather than controlling mines, refiners, auditors or police.
How do the claimants’ case and the LBMA’s defence differ?
| Issue | Claimants’ position | LBMA’s position |
|---|---|---|
| Duty of care | The families allege the LBMA should be accountable for the standards and assurances involved in its certification process. (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 9 July 2026) | The LBMA denies that it owed the alleged duty of care. (LBMA position statement) |
| Control over the mine and others in the supply chain | The claim concerns the LBMA’s alleged failure in applying standards to gold linked to North Mara; the cited case summaries do not establish that it controlled the mine, refiners, auditors or police. | The LBMA says it does not control those parties and that its role is to advance standards and responsible-sourcing practices. (LBMA position statement) |
| Application of the standards | The families allege that gold from North Mara was wrongly certified as meeting responsible-sourcing requirements despite serious human-rights allegations linked to the mine. (Leigh Day) | The LBMA denies the claim in full; whether it applied its standards properly is disputed, not established here as a court finding. (LBMA position statement) |
| Causation | The claim concerns deaths and alleged failures in the certification process; the supplied case reporting does not establish a causal link as a court finding. | The LBMA denies that it caused the deaths. (LBMA position statement) |
| Possible effects beyond this case | The claimants’ position is that a certification body should be answerable for the standards and assurances it applies. (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) | The LBMA argues that an adverse decision could have broader implications for OECD-aligned responsible-sourcing programs across sectors. That is its argument about potential consequences, not an established effect. (LBMA position statement) |
In 2024, Leigh Day partner Daniel Leader described the issue as “whether a certification body can be held legally responsible for a flawed certification process,” as reported by The Independent. That is an advocate’s framing of the dispute, not a statement of settled law.
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What is the case’s procedural status?
- December 2022: The claim was filed in England’s High Court, according to The Independent’s procedural report.
- June 2024: The LBMA withdrew its challenge to the English court’s jurisdiction, allowing the claim to proceed in London. The withdrawal was procedural; it was not an admission of liability. (The Independent)
- July 2026: Leigh Day said 30 additional people alleging that they or family members had been killed, injured or tortured in incidents from December 2022 to March 2024 joined related claims. Leigh Day said those later claims were stayed pending the original trial. (Leigh Day, 9 July 2026)
- As of 3 October 2026: The LBMA said the original trial was scheduled to begin on 12 October 2026; its position page also reported a July pre-trial review and an October trial date. The date is imminent, so the schedule should not be taken as confirmation that the trial began or remains on that date. (LBMA position statement)
Does the case expose a threat to the bullion market?
It puts legal accountability for private certification and responsible-sourcing standards at issue. If a court were to recognize a duty in this context, that could matter to how industry bodies and other standards programs understand their responsibilities. But the broader consequences remain disputed: the LBMA warns of possible implications for responsible-sourcing schemes across sectors, while the claimants argue that a body applying standards should be answerable for them. Neither position establishes what other programs would have to change.
The available case statements do not establish an estimate of damages, a risk of LBMA insolvency, or disruption to bullion-market continuity. Nor do they establish that the LBMA is legally responsible for the alleged harms. The outcome of the original claim—not the existence of the lawsuit alone—will determine what, if anything, a court decides about the LBMA’s alleged duty, conduct and causal connection to the deaths.
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