THE protracted legal battle between Anglo American and former miners suffering from incurable silicosis shows signs of progress, with lawyer Richard Meeran saying last week the case was "now well advanced in the discovery phase", a process in which thousands of documents are being scrutinised.

Caused by the silica dust inhaled by miners, the debilitating disease not only results in breathlessness and plunging energy levels, but also greatly increases the chance of contracting tuberculosis.

The case began in 2004, funded by Legal Aid SA and with local attorneys from the Legal Resources Centre. It was thrown out by the Johannesburg High Court on a technicality in June 2005. Meeran admits that "procedural obstacles" had hobbled the case, but says the dismissal forced Anglo American to provide documents crucial to the case. He hopes the trial will commence late next year.

Alpheos Blom, a plaintiff, says: "The mine did not give us any masks; we used to steal bandages to put over our nostrils."

Until silicosis rendered him unable to work, Blom was his family's sole breadwinner. "My heart is very sore because the company has not done anything to help. I am sick and I cannot do any other job." Blom fears he will die before the case reaches its conclusion.

The Bond Mining Association's Danny Mofokeng says this is a valid concern, and he has witnessed a deterioration in Blom's health. Several plaintiffs have died since the case began five years ago.

Meeran, a partner at British legal firm Leigh Day & Co, played a starring role in the successful case brought against Cape Plc by victims of asbestos-related diseases who were awarded £7,5m in 2003.

"Thousands of miners have effectively been sacrificed in order for mining companies to profit," says Meeran. "The objective of this test case is to establish legal principles on which compensation should be paid for those affected by silicosis."

If successful, the litigation would open the door to thousands of other silicosis sufferers receiving compensation from mining companies. Meeran did not specify the amounts concerned, but said they varied depending on how long each plaintiff worked at the mine.

In addition to compensation, he hopes the case will force the mining industry to assist the ex- miners suffering from health problems caused by its negligence. "The industry appears to have washed its hands of (its former employees)," says Meeran.

The 24 plaintiffs, who all worked at the President Steyn mine in the Free State between the ' 60s and 1998, accuse Anglo American of negligence.

They say the mining giant failed to provide appropriate advice about health concerns to its subsidiary mines. If successful, the case will have far-reaching effects, opening the door for thousands of other claims.

Mofokeng says silicosis has forced children to drop out of school because of a lack of income. "Small children are trying to make money for their families because their fathers have died," he says, adding that health support provided by the government is inadequate.

In rural hospitals, "medicine is dispensed by ordinary people who know nothing of the disease - they will give (the silicosis victim) Panado or flu medicine", he says.

"We have seen many victims who were encouraged to continue working in dusty jobs despite being diagnosed with dust diseases," says Meeran, claiming the mining industry has known about the cause of silicosis for a long time but has done little about it.

Although no reliable figures are available, Meeran estimates the disease has affected "thousands - possibly tens of thousands" - of miners.

"A huge river of disease is flowing out of South African gold mines," says Prof Tony Davies, an airways diseases expert. He says the only way to combat silicosis is to control dust levels in mines.

In 2003, the mining industry pledged to eliminate silicosis by 2013 but AngloGold Ashanti noted in 2006 that prevalence of the disease had increased in the preceding three years.

Anglo American's Pranill Ramchander says: "(Anglo) denies it gave negligent advice and maintains that the employing companies which owned and operated the mines were responsible for the health and safety of their employees and took reasonable steps to protect them."

He says the company always promoted a culture of health and safety in the mines with which it was previously associated.

Ramchander would not comment on what support was being given by Anglo American to its former miners.