NASA reveals the extent of a toxic river caused by a mining disaster in South Africa, visible from space.
Scientists spotted this river from space. It is potentially toxic waste caused by a diamond mine disaster. Chemicals flowed through the countryside. Three people died in the disaster, and around forty others suffered injuries.
The satellite image is quite eerie, showing dried, chemical-filled mud. This mud came from wastewater that flooded Jagersfontein town when the collapse happened in 2022.
A dam collapsed at a diamond mine in central South Africa on September 11, 2022. Mining waste, called tailings, poured out.
NASA showed the tailings’ path, going through town outskirts and into the countryside nearby. Houses were destroyed in its wake. Cell towers were damaged, as well as roads shut down because of the spill. Drinking water got polluted briefly, and hundreds of sheep were washed away.
The photo shows the dam’s broken wall. This breach was on the south side. From there, tailings flowed downhill like a huge wave, a mile wide. It entered Wolwas Dam nearby and then spilled into the Prosesspruit river.
Tailings covered ten square miles of farmland. The river may have widened, and the waste could have eroded the banks.
Tailings are a muddy mix containing dust, crushed rock, water, and mining byproducts. The slurry contains metals such as copper, mercury, cadmium, and zinc. Other compounds exist, such as cyanide, making it look gold from above.
The Jagersfontein mine had large diamonds. It produced the Excelsior Diamond and the Golden Jubilee Diamond. The mine suffered damage from flooding and remains closed. Its reopening is not clear.
