Anglo American has set aside $101-million (about R1.3-billion) to cover potential damages for former South African staff who contracted the fatal lung disease silicosis at work, it said on Thursday. The news came after the High Court in Johannesburg ruled in May that former and current mineworkers, employed by South Africa's main gold mining companies since 1965, may proceed with a class action against those groups. The court decision cleared the way for up to half a million workers to sue for damages resulting from silicosis - a respiratory condition developed from breathing in fine silica dust in mines. "We have made an accounting provision within our half-year results this morning, acknowledging the progress that is being made towards an agreement as part of the working group of companies in the silicosis litigation in South Africa," said an Anglo American spokesman. "This figure is an estimate at this stage and we will see where the negotiations land in the months ahead." The mi...
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