Herbert Smith Freehills has helped broker a settlement between its client – mining company Vedanta Resources – and 2,500 Zambian villagers who had brought a claim alleging that mines run by the company’s subsidiaries had caused pollution leading to health problems.
Going back to 2015, the long-running dispute centred on claims that toxic effluent discharge from the Nchanga Copper Mine damaged local land and waterways used for irrigation and polluted water for drinking, washing and bathing, causing residents severe health problems.
