In December 2012, former gold miners and their dependents filed South Africa's largest-ever class action lawsuit against 30 mining companies, including Anglo American South Africa Ltd., Anglo American's South African subsidiary. The lawsuit claims the company knowingly exposed workers to hazardous mine dust, causing them to develop the life-threatening respiratory disease, silicosis. Over 200,000 former miners potentially suffer from the disease. In March 2013, eighteen miners, later twenty-two, suffering from silicosis, filed an additional class action lawsuit against Anglo American South Africa Ltd. The case was settled confidentially in September 2013.

In February 2013, nine employees were injured at Anglo American's Siphumelele mine in Rustenburg, South Africa, after Anglo American Platinum security personnel fired rubber bullets to disperse a union dispute.

In March 2016 Anglo American reached a USD30 million settlement with 4,400 gold miners who contracted the fatal lung disease silicosis while working underground, the companies and lawyers said.

Labor disputes and pollution complaints, as well as calls for adequate community compensation, mostly from indigenous communities like the Wayuu, frequently disrupt operations. Protesters demonstrated at Anglo American's 2013 annual general meeting after the company's mining activities allegedly jeopardized the lives of 13,000 people.

In northern Amapa, in Brazil the company was fined USD ten million following an incident at the company's port terminal that left three people dead and three missing.

In September 2013, Chile's environmental regulator, SMA, pressed charges against Anglo American for violations including failing to preserve and relocate vegetation, ineffective wetland conservation and water management plans, lack of environmental monitoring, and dumping mine tailings in unauthorized areas. In addition to potentially losing their environmental permit, Anglo American faced fines between USD970,000 and USD4.9 million.

In Peru, community opposition continued to delay Anglo American's plans to begin production at their Michiquillay and Quellaveco copper mines. Local communities fear the mines will cause severe  environmental damage and deplete water supplies.

A study conducted in 2013 by the Climate Accountability Institute ranked Anglo American 20th in attributable worldwide carbon dioxide and methane emissions compared to global totals between 1751 and 2010.