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On Wednesday it was announced that Anglo-American South Africa would pay 23 former mineworkers undisclosed amounts to settle claims brought against the company after the workers contracted silicosis. The mining house remains adamant that this is not an admission of liability. But lawyers for the mineworkers are hopeful that the settlement may pave the way for payouts for silicosis victims across the industry.
Silicosis is a lung disorder caused by inhaling bits of silica, a mineral found in sand and rocks, over an extended period of time. Silica dust particles can make tiny cuts on the lungs, creating scar tissue which makes it more difficult to breathe. It’s a progressive condition, and sometimes it can come on up to ten years after exposure to silica. People who are most at risk for developing the condition are those who work with sand, rock or quartz, in industries like construction, demolition, or mining.
The South African government has recognised the problem of silicosis and committed to “significantly” reducing its prevalence by 2015 and eliminating it entirely by 2030. It’s a particular public health issue in South Africa because exposure to silica dust increases the risk of TB.
“It is probably fair to say that in any population of silica-exposed workers living in the rural labour-sending areas of South and Southern Africa a detailed study is likely to find that about one in three have, or have had tuberculosis, about one in four has silicosis and that almost none have been properly compensated,” the Department of Labour writes on the subject. The same report says that industry has not done enough in the past to address the issue: “dust control is inadequate in both the mining and non-mining sectors”, it claims.
But despite this, the government has in the past taken a tentative approach to the question of compensatory litigation against mining houses. In 2006 the waters of legal liability were tested by a South African gold miner called Thembekile Mankayi, who sued AngloGold Ashanti for R2,6 million. Manyaki said he had developed silicosis after working on AngloGold Ashanti’s Vaal Reef operation for 16 years, and his health had declined to the point where he could no longer work.
At the time, Department of Minerals and Energy director general, Sandile Nogxina, voiced unease on behalf of the government. “We would not want to be seen as standing in the way of someone following their rights, but we would not like to see a situation that is damaging to the mining industry,” Nogxina told the Miningmx website. “We hope sanity will prevail. It is my wish that this matter be resolved out of court. If it sets a precedent it could open a floodgate of litigation.”
In 2008, the Johannesburg High Court ruled that Manyaki couldn’t lodge a civil claim against AngloGold Ashanti because he had already received a small amount of compensation under the terms of the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act. But in March 2011 the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that mineworkers did indeed have the common law right to claim damages from mine owners.
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