Mantashe, Mahlobo conduct on-site inspection of Samancor tailings facility following sidewall collapse
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe and Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo have conducted a joint oversight visit to ferrochrome and manganese producer Samancor’s Dikwena Chrome facility, in Brits, in the North West, following the structural collapse of a sidewall at the mine’s tailings facility that occurred on August 13.
During the visit, the Ministers met with mine management, received a briefing on the operational dynamics surrounding the event and inspected the affected area to evaluate environmental impacts and infrastructure disruptions.
Expressing concern and reiterating government’s commitment to the principle of zero harm, Mantashe acknowledged the fortunate absence of fatalities while sharply focusing on the need for system accountability and regulatory compliance.
“We are very lucky that there is no fatality. Managing slime dams cannot be treated as a water issue. It is a mining issue, inherently linked to the core mining operations and structural accountability,” he highlights.
Meanwhile, Mahlobo adds that tailings infrastructure must maintain total structural integrity across every phase of operation.
The Department of Water and Sanitation says it has deployed teams, alongside specialised dam safety engineering units, to conduct thorough water quality sampling, containment checks and environmental risk assessments to safeguard surrounding communities and mitigate downstream impacts.
Investigations on the exact technical and operational causes of the sidewall failure remain active and ongoing.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
SABAT Batteries is a renowned brand in the battery industry, manufacturing a wide range of batteries at its state-of-the-art production facility in...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Sulzer South Africa, established in 1922, partners with critical industries like power, oil & gas, water, mining, and chemicals to boost...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
