This open access book charts how South Africa's gold mines have systematically suppressed
evidence of hazardous work practices and the risks associated with mining. For most of the
twentieth century South Africa was the world's largest producer of gold. Although the country
enjoyed a reputation for leading the world in occupational health legislation the mining
companies developed a system of medical surveillance and workers' compensation which
compromised the health of black gold miners facilitated the spread of tuberculosis and
ravaged the communities and economies of labour-sending states. The culmination of two decades
of meticulous archival research this book exposes the making contesting and unravelling of
the companies' capacity to shape - and corrupt - medical knowledge.
