South Africa’s leading gold mining companies are facing a potential lawsuit on behalf of thousands of workers who claim they contracted silicosis, a lung disease, through the companies’ negligence. A South African lawyer has filed the first papers against AngloGold Ashanti (listed in London), Gold Fields and Harmony, in a preliminary step to determine whether the court recognizes the case as a class action.
See http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE87K02Y20120821?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0.