Gencor faces R1-billion suit

Johannesburg-listed Gencor, is facing more than R1 billion in claims from people with asbestos-related illnesses.

Lawyers are preparing 3,500 claims totalling R1 billion in compensation from Gencor, which once held interests in several South African asbestos mines and continues to hold about 47% of Impala Platinum.

Richard Spoor, an occupational health attorney, issued a summons for damages on behalf of a medical doctor who is dying of mesothelioma, which he contracted while working at various asbestos mines that were owned by Gencor.

Spoor is registering claims from 3,500 people who claim to have become ill as a result of exposure to asbestos dust or fibres at Gencor’s operations. He has already registered 500 claims against Griqualand Exploration & Finance Co. and 394 claims for sick workers who were retrenched by its sister company, Msauli Asbes, after 1994.