South Africa
Court approves R5bn silicosis settlement─── 13:26 Fri, 26 Jul 2019
The High Court in Johannesburg on Friday approved a historic R5 billion settlement in the silicosis and tuberculosis case involving a large number of mineworkers.
The settlement is expected to cover thousands of workers who contracted silicosis from exposure to dust working at the mines.
The historic settlement was reached in 2018 after three years of extensive negotiations between the companies and the claimants' attorneys.
The six mining companies paying out are African Rainbow Minerals‚ Anglo American SA‚ AngloGold Ashanti‚ Gold Fields‚ Harmony and Sibanye Stillwater.
The claimants will receive between R70,000 and R500,000.
The mines’ spokesperson Alan Fine says there is one more legal step that needs to be taken before a settlement trust can be established.
