The legal team urged the South African Supreme Court of Appeal to overturn a December 2023 ruling dismissing efforts to sue the British-based company over pollution in Kabwe, 150 kilometres (95 miles) north of Zambia's capital Lusaka.

The area is described by Human Rights Watch as one of the most lead-polluted places in the world, with toxins remaining in the soil and dust even after the closure in 1994 of a lead mine that had been in the Anglo American group between 1925 and 1974.

About 140,000 women and children are affected by lead poisoning, lawyers representing the claimants said in a statement.

At a two-day hearing, they said the "most likely" source of most of the pollution was from lead "discharged under Anglo's watch".

"Anglo knew about the dangers of lead to the local community and knew or should have known of the dangers to future communities in Kabwe," said the statement summarising the proceedings.

"Anglo failed to prevent or remediate the lead pollution that it caused," it said.

The legal team representing Anglo American South Africa argued that responsibility lay with the Zambian state-owned company that took over the mine in 1974, the summary said.

The harm to the current generations was not foreseeable when it was involved with the mine, they said.

The appeal court is expected to hand down its decision between February and June next year, with the case seen as potentially setting a precedent for corporate accountability.

Human Rights Watch said in March that more than 95 percent of children living near the mine had elevated blood lead levels with about half requiring urgent treatment.

br/giv

Anglo American