Thousands of ex-gold miners suffering from silicosis have launched a
class action suit in South Africa, in what could prove the final nail in
the coffin of the country’s battered but vital mining sector.
Already buckling under huge operational costs and seemingly endless
labour unrest, some 30 gold mine operators were last month slapped with
litigation by thousands of their former employees.
The plaintiffs - mostly black migrant labourers from nearby countries
and South Africa’s far flung mountainous villages of the Eastern Cape
region - allegedly contracted the lung disease while drilling gold
bearing rocks.
Already theirs is the biggest class action in South Africa’s legal history, involving more than 17,000 complainants.
And the list is growing by around 500 people each month, according to lead attorney Richard Spoor.
That stream could very well become a torrent.
Academic calculations estimate some 280,000 people have worked in
gold mines for a minimum of 10 years, long enough to inhale dangerous
levels of silica dust. (more)
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