Thousands of South African miners who are suffering from lung diseases are to benefit from a $400m compensation deal.
The mining companies that agreed to this compensation include Harmony Gold, Gold Fields, African Rainbow Minerals, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American.
The mining companies agreed to make the pay-out following the contraction of silicosis by these miners which is an incurable lung disease.
The disease is caused by inhaling dust from gold-bearing rocks. South Africa is a world leading producer of gold and thousands of locals are deployed to work on several mining sites without proper health safety measures.
Those to benefit from this compensation had worked on mining sites as far back as 1965 and are all black South Africans.
The settlement is the biggest group legal action in the Southern African country.
The legal action launched six years ago as to ensure that miners suffering from lung diseases and other related diseases are compensated.
Carina du Toit who is a lawyer with the Legal Resources Centre that represented some of the miners, said the deal was the product of “negotiation and compromise, but we believe this is a beneficial settlement”.
The Johannesburg High Court will now have to approve the deal before being implemented.
Source: Africafeeds.com
