A St Ann widow, who is blaming the death of her husband on mining activities in the parish, is among nine residents suing the Government, Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners II and New Day Aluminum (Jamaica) Limited for alleged breaches of their constitutional rights.
The widow, Victoria Grant, is the first claimant in the suit, which was filed in July this year.
The claim was included in the filing and will be ventilated in the trial, which was yesterday fixed for November 20 to December 15 next year in the Supreme Court.
The widow and her co-claimants, who are mainly farmers, are further contending that the defendants have breached and/or are likely to breach their right to life by permitting and carrying out dangerous mining activities in the middle of their communities, next to their homes, churches and schools, without taking the necessary safety precaution.
They also contend that they have suffered significant injury to their health as well as damage to their homes, farms and subsistence crops. They also say they have lost their livelihoods and rural way of life as a result of mining activities carried out by Noranda under two special licences which were granted to New Day in September 2004 and May 2017 to mine lands in St Ann.
They also averred that their drinking water sources have been contaminated as a result of the mining activities and that there is no water-quality monitoring or decontamination of the public water catchments in their communities.
The claimants further maintain that the loss and injury suffered and the possibility of further effects are compounded by the lack of adequate medical facilities in their communities to provide comprehensive treatment for mining-related illnesses.
The nine claimants have joined the Southern Trelawny Environment Agency and farmer Clifton Barrett in the battle to prevent bauxite mining in sections of Trelawny and St Ann under a Special Mining Lease 173 (SML). Although the lawsuits were filed separately, Michael Hylton, KC, who is leading the defence team for both parties, made an application for the matters to be consolidated. The court granted the application for both to be tried at the same time.
The August 28, 2018 SML 173 mining lease between the Government and New Day establishes more than 1,200 hectares of land for mining. It provides for New Day to appoint Noranda as its agent to mine the bauxite and perform other related activities.
The suitors, together, are contending that the defendants violated several of their civil liberties, including their right to enjoy a healthy and productive environment free from abuse and degradation of the ecological heritage and the right to protection from degrading treatment.
The claimants, who want compensatory, aggravated and constitutional or vindicatory damages, as well as interest, are also seeking to have SML 173 struck down.
They have also sought an injunction to restrain the two bauxite companies, their servants, agents or employees from starting, continuing or exploring any mining activities relating to SML 173.
They have also sought a similar injunction barring further mining activities on two previous special leases. Alternatively, they are also seeking an injunction restraining any mining activities on the two special leases without reasonable steps and precautions being taken, as directed by the court, to mitigate injury or damage to them or other residents in the affected communities.
An injunction hearing has been scheduled for December 2 and will be followed by plea and case management hearing on December 12 and 13.