Jagersfontein owner was aware of tailings dam instability – independent study
An independent study into the 2022 Jagersfontein tragedy, in which two people died and one is still missing, found that the owner of the dam, Jagersfontein Development (Pty) Ltd, was aware of its instability as far back as 2019.
The study released on Friday (28 November 2025) was commissioned by the Department of Water and Sanitation and compiled by the Universities of Pretoria and Witswatersrand.
The tailings dam consisted of two compartments separated by an embankment wall. When the dam breached on the southern wall one compartment collapsed, leading to containment of approximately 5.9 million cubic meters (mᵌ) of fine tailings being released downstream and causing flooding and destruction of infrastructure and property including power lines, substations, and wastewater treatment works, houses as well as pollution to the environment.
The report further indicates that the construction/raising of the tailings storage facility before its collapse was based on conceptual designs and that no detailed designs were done to enable the safe construction of the facility. In addition, there was no construction supervision by a registered engineering professional.
The investigation also revealed that part of the southern wall of compartment-2 was constructed over a pre-existing tailings dump of low strength, meaning it was constructed on a weak foundation. This is what largely resulted in the failure of the tailings storage facility where the breach occurred.
Water and sanitation deputy minister David Mahlobo said he would have liked for the dam to close down seeing that it is not yet fully compliant with directives issued, however government also has to consider the livelihood of residents who reside in the area as the mine provides job opportunities to some of the residents. “It is a fine balancing act between saving jobs and saving lives,” he concluded.
