A South African Tailings Dam Collapsed. It Was Not on the Register
The Inyoni facility failed on 13 August, spilling slurry into a neighbouring platinum mine. Regulators say it was showing persistent seepages and was unregistered. The post A South African Tailings Dam Collapsed. It Was Not on the Register appeared first on The Rio Times .
The Inyoni tailings storage facility at Samancor's Dikwena chrome plant complex east of Brits collapsed on 13 August 2026, resulting in no fatalities and one reported injury. Slurry from the facility leaked into the neighbouring Eland mine, owned by Northam Platinum, temporarily closing an access road. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources concluded that the dam had persistent seepages and that failure was reasonably foreseeable.
Additionally, the facility did not appear to have been registered with the Department of Water and Sanitation, as confirmed by civil society monitors who note its absence from the July 2025 dams register. This incident highlights the lack of visibility and oversight for a structure capable of flooding a neighbouring mine, emphasizing the need for improved regulation and transparency in South Africa's mining industry.
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