Residents claim the Jagersfontein dam wall collapse was a preventable tragedy caused by negligence and poor construction.
As the court case against those accused of being responsible for the tragedy caused by the collapse of the Jagersfontein mine tailings dam in 2022 began on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter claimed the dam was poorly built to cut costs.
Five employees from the engineering company that constructed the dam about 10 years ago appeared briefly in the Jagersfontein Magistrate’s Court in Free State on Wednesday.
The case was postponed to 22 October for further investigation.
The dam wall collapsed on 11 September 2022, releasing sludge and water which swamped Charlesville, the adjacent township, killing three people, injuring others, damaging infrastructure, destroying houses, and killing livestock.
Claims of poor site selection
The source said the disaster was inevitable because the engineering firm that erected the dam did the opposite of what should have been done.
“The contractor was advised to build the tailings dam on the southwestern side of the site, just below the modern tailings dump,” said the source.
“They did the complete opposite and built the dam on the eastern side, close to the R704 road, facing the town.
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“The reason they did that was to save money, since building the dam walls on the southwestern side would have required more material.
“This plant generated 147 600 tons per month of dry slimes to be disposed of. The company was advised that the eastern side, where they had built the slimes dam, was directly in the way of the natural waterways and should be avoided at all times.
“A certain wall width must be adhered to in order to avoid such a disaster.”
Ignored safety procedures and inspections
The source said even though the dam was constructed on the wrong site, “had the safety procedures been followed, the disaster could have been avoided”.
He said one of the legal and mandatory requirements needed to be done were regular inspections.
“The inspections must be signed off by a registered engineer appointed onsite, registered with a government ticket at the Engineering Council of South Africa,” said the source.
“The most important document on how to manage and monitor the slimes dam is the code of practice, which should have been generated by the contractor and must have been agreed and signed off by the direct workforce, union and the community by means of public participation.”
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Loss of livelihoods
Community representative and entrepreneur Ntsela Motsepe said mining firms which previously operated in the area left behind a small tailings dam which did not put the residents’ lives at risk, even when it rained.
“About 10 years ago, Jagersfontein Developments announced it was going to conduct mining activities in the area,” said Motsepe.
“Then they erected a new tailings dam that was poorly constructed. It was a huge dam facing directly the residential areas.
“The walls of that dam were made of mining waste mixed with other materials. The dam is just a few kilometres away from my house.”
Mostepe said he lost furniture worth R500 000 and his house developed cracks after the disaster.
He claimed the mining company was refusing to compensate him and other residents.
He said about 43 livestock farmers, who lost their animals, were also not compensated.
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Legal action and historical context
In the pursuit of accountability, multiple law suits have been initiated following the disaster.
Human rights lawyer Richard Spoor has been approached by more than 30 families who asked him to assist them in suing Jagersfontein Developments for the damages they suffered.
It is not the first time that the residents of Free State have been affected by a disaster that was caused by the collapse of a tailings dam.
On 22 February 1994, the Merriespruit tailings dam in Virginia, Free State, overflowed due to the heavy rain that swept through the area.
The authorities blamed mismanagement of the dam and 17 people were killed, while houses were demolished.
David van Wyk, a researcher at the Benchmarks Foundation, said their investigation revealed that: “On 11 September 2022, at about 6am, the dam wall suffered a catastrophic structural failure.
“This breach resulted in the release of an immense volume of toxic slurry, estimated to be more than 50 million cubic metres.”
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