Publications
More than three years before the deadly incident which on Sunday claimed a life and injured over 70 people, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) had raised red flags over the Jagersfontein mine's tailings storage, highlighting excessive volumes disposed of in the facilities as well as the need for an "emergency preparedness plan".
Following Sunday's incident, the department has directed the company, Jagersfontein Developments, to release sludge from a second compartment of the tailings dam, which would be even more catastrophic should it also fail.
Sputnik Ratau, spokesperson for the DWS, said the department completed the first compliance monitoring audit of Jagersfontein Developments in June 2019, where the company was found to be compliant with only 32.75% of the licence conditions.
