Sixteen miners who developed pneumoconiosis after working at a coalmine in Beijing's Fangshan district received compensation on Tuesday after three years of a lawsuit, the Beijing News reported.

Lan Tianzhong, one of the workers, received 73,000 yuan ($11,750) for pneumoconiosis, a major occupational disease in China especially among miners.

Lan worked for the Taixi Coal Mine in Fangshan district from Feb 2002 to April 2010. He earned a living in the mine to support the education of his two children and worked nearly 12 hours every day.

After he was diagnosed with pneumoconiosis the coalmine was shut down by the government, the report said.

Lan then launched a lawsuit against the coalmine owner and asked for compensation. Lan's case became a hot topic among the public in 2010 as more people paid attention to China's occupational diseases.