Jagersfontein Tailings Dam Collapse Update

There is just nothing that will ever erase from the minds of residents living in the town of Jagersfontein in the Free State Province, the shocking experience of a tailings dam collapsing. Four people and many animals died that day, many more were injured, and the homes, lives, and livelihoods of 160 families were changed forever. The only silver lining in this story is that there is now greater insistence that all such structures are regulated.

It is 12 months since the disastrous tailings dam collapse in the small, historic town of Jagersfontein, in the Kopanong Local Municipality in the Free State. On Sunday 11 September 2022, it released a tidal wave of tailings sludge (waste products from mining) that swept through parts of Charlesville and Itumeleng, located downhill and below the tailings.

While the families still wait for compensation, in this period much has changed. Feedback about this is provided by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) which has adopted a multi-faceted approach. This is to hold those responsible accountable, to rehabilitate polluted water resources, and to restore water and sanitation services in the area.