Thousands of South African miners were given the green light Friday by their High Court to pursue a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against mining companies for respiratory illnesses contracted at work. It causes shortness of breath, a persistent cough and chest pains, and makes people highly susceptible to tuberculosis.
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Handing down the landmark judgement in the Johannesburg High Court on Friday, Deputy Judge President Phineas Mojapelo said the class action was a suitable option for the miners, as workers did not have the resources and financial means to access the courts individually.
Former gold miners listen to speakers at a registration meeting for miners with silicosis in Bizana in South Africa’s impoverished Eastern Cape province, March 7, 2012.
But the former miners are still hopeful that the case could help improve their lives as well as those of their families, our reporter says.
The defendants in the case include some of the world’s biggest bullion producers, who have been hit by a slide in commodities prices and widespread labor unrest among miners.
If the class action is granted, it will be the largest ever in South Africa.
The defendants include Harmony Gold, Gold fields, AngloGold Ashanti, Sibanye Gold, African Rainbow Minerals and Aglo American which form the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group to deal with the issue according to Reuters news agency.
The OLD said in a statement that the gold firms were studying the judgment and would decide at a later date whether to appeal the verdict.
Shares in the gold companies shares were mixed following the ruling, some tracking a stronger price for the precious metal. “A lot of them probably made provisions”, Gryphon Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Abri du Plessis said. Anglo and ARM no longer operate gold mines but have been named in claims dating back to when they did.
The class action suit will represent thousands of miners who contracted the fatal lung disease silicosis while working underground.
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One of the companies in this case, Anglo American, reached a $30m (£21m) suit with 400 miners in a separate silicosis case. “Even today they don’t care”, he said.
