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In May 2016 the high court in Johannesburg decided that a class action lawsuit could be laid against 32 gold mining companies in South Africa. Three law firms represented a group of miners who were applying for this class action certification on behalf of all miners suffering from silicosis and pulmonary tuberculosis as a result of working in the gold mines.

Silicosis is a preventable but incurable lung disease that is contracted in the gold mines through inadequate protection from silica dust. Miners who contract silicosis get tired and out of breath quickly. They are prone to lung infections, respiratory failure and TB.

Over a period of 20 days in September and October 2015, we traveled around South Africa's Eastern Cape, into Lesotho and up to Johannesburg to find and photograph the 56 miners and widows named in the court documents.

We then exhibited the portraits next door to the high court, in a dark basement with only the light from miners torches to view the images and read the stories. This advocacy was hailed as a decisive factor in the judges final decision.

READ THEIR STORIES BELOW...

TPOG HERO 3.jpg

THE
PRICE
OF GOLD

TPOG HERO 3.jpg

THE
PRICE
OF GOLD

IN THE MEDIA

The Guardian | Daily Maverick | CBS

For publications, exhibitions and interviews, please contact thom@thompierce.com

CREATED FOR positive activism © 2025

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