On 17 November 2009, at 11 am to 12 pm, a briefing will be held by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), Legal Aid South Africa and leading London law firm Leigh Day at Legal Aid South Africa' offices in Braamfontein.

The purpose of the briefing will be to outline the impact of silicosis, a debilitating lung disease caused by exposure to silica dust which has literally decimated communities in South Africa and Lesotho. Many thousands of gold miners contracted the disease, which renders sufferers susceptible to tuberculosis, a condition which is frequently undiagnosed and left untreated. However, the mining industry, which has been well aware for decades of the nature and scale of the disease caused by its operations, has still provided no meaningful assistance to the thousands of victims or their dependents.

The LRC, Legal Aid South Africa and Leigh Day have launched a landmark test case in the South Gauteng High Court seeking damages on behalf of ex-miners against Anglo American South Africa Limited.

The briefing will be attended by:

• Silicosis victims;
• Community representatives from affected areas, the Eastern Cape and Free State;
• Professor Tony Davies, a leading medical expert, who will explain the scale of the disease burden in the Eastern Cape, Free State and Lesotho;
• Jason Brickhill of the LRC and Richard Meeran and Zanele Mbuyisa of Leigh Day, the lawyers acting in the test case;
• Achmed Mayet of Legal Aid South Africa, which is funding the litigation.