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A South African court on Friday approved a settlement of five billion rand ($ 350 million) in a clbad action lawsuit against six giants of gold mines filed by thousands of miners contracted silicosis.
The agreement covers those who worked for African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye Stillwater between March 1965 and today.
A Johannesburg court said that "all parties have made an effort to make the settlement agreement reasonable, adequate and fair".
"The negotiations resulted in the best possible settlement conditions that the parties (…) could find in the circumstances," he said.
The agreement is expected to benefit more than 100,000 former miners, who have contracted lung disease, or their dependents.
This was the result of years of legal battles after the 2011 Constitutional Court ruled that minors who had often accepted derisory compensation for their poor health could still sue.
A large number of those affected were poor migrant workers from neighboring countries of South Africa, including Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique.
The mines in South Africa, which have attracted workers from across the region in the 130 years since the world's largest gold deposits were discovered, remain among the deepest and most dangerous mines in the world. in the world.
A parliamentary committee on mineral resources welcomed this initiative.
"We believe that justice has finally prevailed and that, in the future, mining companies should always give priority to worker safety in order to prevent diseases that could possibly occur long after retirement," he said. Sahlulele Luzipo.
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