Johannesburg - South African gold-mining companies, some of which are being sued for historical incidents of lung disease, formed a working group to pay compensation to affected workers and prevent new cases occurring.
The group, which includes AngloGold Ashanti, Anglo American South Africa and Sibanye Gold, plans to set up a so-called legacy fund to supplement compensation paid by the state, it said in an op-ed in Johannesburg-based City Press Sunday.
“While there rests a fiduciary obligation on company managements to vigorously defend the legal challenge they face, it is also within their remit to find a solution that could provide a mutually acceptable outcome for all parties concerned,” they wrote.
Sufferers of silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhaling dust from mines, are planning a class-action lawsuit against mining companies, which they say provided unsafe working conditions.
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Anglo American’s South African unit and AngloGold settled a separate case related to silicosis earlier this month for about R500 million ($33 million).
African Rainbow Minerals, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold Mining are also part of the working group.
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