Hudbay settles longstanding lawsuits related to Guatemala nickel mine

Hudbay Minerals (TSX, NYSE: HBM) announced Monday it has reached settlement on three longstanding lawsuits related to allegations of violence and human rights abuses at its former Guatemalan mine between 2007 and 2009.

The lawsuits were filed more than a decade ago by members of a remote Indigenous Mayan community, who claimed that security personnel from the Fenix nickel mine, alongside police and military, were involved in violent expulsion of its people from their homes.

In one lawsuit, it is alleged that the community leader was assaulted with a machete, shot and killed by those acting on behalf of the mine operation, which belonged to Hudbay at the time, while another alleged that another community member was shot and left paralyzed.

The third lawsuit was brought 11 female plaintiffs alleging that they were sexually assaulted during the clash. However, according to Hudbay, this suit predates its ownership of the mine, which it took over in 2008 and inherited the previous owner’s liabilities.

The settlement, for which the terms remain undisclosed, brings an end to over a decade of legal uncertainty surrounding Hudbay’s former mine. In 2013, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that the cases can be heard in Canada rather than Guatemala, paving the way for the plaintiffs to pursue legal action against the Toronto-based company.

However, the Canadian miner stated that the terms agreed with the plaintiffs confirm the settlement is without admission of liability, and the parties continue to have “fundamentally differing views” on the facts underlying the allegations, including the allegations of misconduct by its subsidiaries.

Hudbay’s CEO Peter Kukielski said in a press release Monday the settlement represents a recognition of “the difficult economic and social circumstances of the plaintiffs,” and his company is thankful for a “constructive resolution with the plaintiffs and their counsel.”

In a statement to the Financial Post, Murray Klippenstein, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, said his clients hope that their “tenacity and ordeal” will help protect other similarly situated people.

“The plaintiffs pursued justice in Ontario against a transnational Canadian corporation and ultimately obtained a fair and reasonable settlement. We think that corporate executives and investors alike may want to take note,” Klippenstein said in the statement.

In 2011, Hudbay divested itself of its mine operations in Guatemala at a loss to Solway Group, and has had no operations there since that time.

Shares in Hudbay Minerals closed Monday’s session 1.0% higher at $12.88 apiece, with a market capitalization of $5.1 billion.