So. Africa: Class-action silicosis case likely to take six months to settle as three new companies join the matter
"Class-action silicosis case likely to take six months to settle as three new companies join the matter", 7 Feb 2018
Hopes of a quick resolution to the occupational lung disease (OLD) class-action, which includes thousands of former miners afflicted with silicosis, have been tempered, with expectations of a settlement to take to the courts expected in the next six months instead of early this year as three new companies join the matter...[F]ormer CEO of Harmony and now chair of the working group on OLD, said the lawyers and parties involved in the class-action were hammering out a complex settlement, with a lot of details needing to be resolved before the matter could be returned to court for ratification...The six mining companies are Harmony Gold, Gold Fields, African Rainbow Minerals, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American. Just recently, Pan African Resources, DRDGold, and Randgold & Exploration have joined the matter...In the 12 months to end-October 2017, there were 7,756 compensation payments made to former miners with OLDs, worth R226m, compared to 1,628 compensation payments worth R79m in the same period in 2015.