Friday, 21st July 2006 (1500 views)

The rights of gold miners in South Africa are in safe hands after the country's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) selected Frans Baleni as its new head, industry observers suggest.

In an interview with Mining Weekly, Mr Baleni revealed that he would preserve miners' fundamental right to strike and also said he wanted to see a future free from poverty and HIV/Aids.

In terms of employee share options (Esops), Mr Baleni praised gold firm AngloGold Ashanti for involving miners in their creation, "from inception to completion", and noted that its Esops structure had resulted in three payouts within seven years.

AngloGold is also concerned with the problem of HIV/Aids and other regional health issues in Africa.

The company "is committed to prompt and supportive action in response to any major health threats in the regions in which [it] operates".

Malaria is also a major health problem at AngloGold's African operations and the company is looking into ways to help.

 

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