Nevsun Resources (TSX,
NYSEMKT:NSU) has lost its bid to have Canada’s Supreme Court throw out a
lawsuit by workers who say they were forced to work at the company’s copper-zinc
Bisha mine in Eritrea, East Africa.
In its judgment, the Canada’s top court determined that the plaintiffs’ claims may continue, Nevsun said. The miner added that the question of whether the claimants will be allowed to sue the company for breach of customary international law will be determined by the trial judge.
The legal action, filed in November
2014, alleges the Vancouver-based company developed its flagship gold mine in
partnership with the military dictatorship of Eritrea. Central to the case are
allegations that Nevsun engaged Eritrean state-run contractors and the country’s
military to build the mine’s facilities and that the companies and military
deployed forced labour under objectionable conditions.
More to come…