South Africa: Compensation process continues but delays remain for ex-miners suffering from occupational lung disease, following 2018 settlement with 6 mining cos.
Many of these potential claimants are not even aware that Tshiamiso Trust exists because the trust is not on the ground tracing ex-miners and creating awareness. The trust doesn’t seem concerned.Head of Justice for Miners, Ziyanda Manjati
In 2012, a class-action lawsuit was launched against six mining companies, Harmony Gold, Gold Fields, African Rainbow Minerals, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American, after miners working for the companies contracted incurable lung diseases, including TB and silicosis. The impacted workers included many migrant workers, including from Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.
In 2018, a settlement of R5 billion was reached and the settlement was approved in the courts in 2019. The claims process for the settlement allegedly started in 2021, according to the trust managing the payments, Tshiamiso Trust. By 2024, Times Live reported that the Tshiamiso Trust had disbursed R1.5 billion to claimants, reaching 16,417 eligible claimants. However, the Trust said is was experiencing challenges for a significant number of claimants.
Seven years after the initial settlement, in July 2025, it was reported that 84% of people lodging claims had still not received compensation. Advocates say claimants from across Southern Africa are dying while waiting for medical tests, and others have been "found ineligible despite having valid medical certificates".
Some of the mining companies allegedly dispute whether post-mortem reports provide evidence that silicosis or TB is the primary cause of death.
A spokesperson for the Trust said it was awaiting a decision on whether post-mortem reports can be used to determine the primary cause of death as Silicosis or TB.