South African gold producers will likely reach a settlement within six weeks in a lawsuit over a fatal lung disease that companies have set aside R5 billion in provisions for, a lawyer and industry group said on Sunday...A spokesman for the working group on Occupational Lung Disease (OLD)...said it was is “hopeful” the settlement can be reached in that timeframe.  The settlement would still need to be approved by a High Court before it was implemented...The suit was launched around six years ago on behalf of miners suffering from silicosis, contracted by inhaling silica dust in gold mines...The six companies involved are Harmony Gold, Gold Fields, African Rainbow Minerals, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American...