Mine Giants Face Lawsuits Over South African Miners' Lung Disease

In an effort to rectify mining injustices, human rights lawyers at Richard Spoor Inc have filed a class action suit against some of South Africa's biggest mining companies, on behalf of retired coal miners who are living with the detrimental health effects of decades of unsafe working conditions, the firm announced.

In March 2016, Anglo American South Africa and AngloGold Ashanti reached a negotiated settlement "out of court" with the lawyers on behalf of the 4,365 miners who contracted silicosis, a long-term lung disease caused by inhaling unsafe levels of silica dust, usually over a period of many years.

In May 2018, five mining groups agreed to pay U.S.$346 million to settle a class-action suit involving the thousands of mineworkers who contracted tuberculosis and silicosis at work. The high court in Johannesburg South Africa, approved this settlement in 2019 and the Q(h)ubeka Trust was set up to pay compensation to the mineworkers though several died before or shortly after they received their settlements.

While the pay out process was beset with delays, long-term effects of greater magnitude in the form of health challenges have affected those diagnosed with silicosis. These include weakness, fatigue, fever and leg swelling, which made finding employment difficult for many.