Mining companies face a string of lawsuits from sick workers

THE gold mining industry faces attack on several fronts — in various ways — for allowing situations in which its employees contracted the lung diseases silicosis and silico-tuberculosis, with a new set of papers being filed in the South Gauteng High Court yesterday.

Already three separate suits have begun, and human rights lawyer Richard Spoor, well known due to his winning a settlement for sickly former asbestos miners almost a decade ago, said he was in the process of starting a class action on behalf of miners with silicosis.

“The next few years will be very active (with) fast-changing work (for lawyers representing miners who have contracted silicosis and silico-tuberculosis),” said Spoor.

Lawyers representing 31 former AngloGold Ashanti miners yesterday issued a summons against the company, which operates in 11 countries and is listed on five stock exchanges, said attorney Zanele Mbuyisa.

All the miners worked at AngloGold Ashanti’s Vaal Reefs mine, after the company took control of the mine. Vaal Reefs was owned and operated by Vaal Reefs Exploration & Mining Company, which changed its name to AngloGold in 1998 and to AngloGold Ashanti in 2004, Ms Mbuyisa said. “We say they should have given the miners protective gear,” she said. AngloGold Ashanti spokesman Alan Fine said the company had not received the summons.

Ms Mbuyisa, who is aided by a London law firm Leigh Day, said “a large number” of former Vaal Reefs miners were expected to join the litigation.

The litigation was, however, for specific, named claimants only and was not a class action.

Litigators chose this route because the miners’ former employer still existed.

Mr Spoor said he was putting together a class action and hoped to file papers at the end of the month. He is suing only for those who contracted silicosis, not tuberculosis and silicosis.

“In our view a class action is good for the claimants and the defendants, and we are negotiating with (the defendant mining companies) on this. We have about 14,000 clients at the moment and a class action will (at its finalisation) put an end to the matter. There will be no further litigation because there will be a settlement plan,” he said.

Another, separate, class action over the same disease is being put together by attorney Charles Abrahams, who has already received notices to oppose from AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold. Mr Abrahams said lawyers were working out a schedule for disclosure.

Leigh Day is also representing — again separately — 15 Anglo American miners who also claim to have contracted silicosis and silico-tuberculosis.

It has been agreed with Anglo American that this matter will be determined via an arbitration hearing that is set down for September next year.