Cost of Jagersfontein Dam collapse soars
The damage from the collapse of a tailings dam in the diamond-mining town of Jagersfontein in the Free State could run into hundreds of millions of rands, according to human rights attorney Richard Spoor, reports Mail & Guardian.
The disaster on 11 September caused large volumes of grey sludge to engulf and destroy homes, killing two people – Shadrach Williams and Ralehana Aaron Mosoeu – while Mantele Mokhali remains missing.
Hundreds of people were displaced and farmers suffered large-scale livestock losses.
Spoor’s firm is representing 30 of the affected families, including the dead and missing.
‘It’s clear to me considering the kind of liabilities that the mine has that they’re insolvent now,’ he said.
He plans to file a class action ‘against everybody we can find’ or seek to liquidate Jagersfontein Developments.
‘The environmental damage, how do you quantify that? I’ve been advised by the farmers and their attorney that every fish, every frog, every crab, in that water is dead. Everything was destroyed,’ he said, adding that the sludge had formed a ‘concrete-like’ substance that would cause dust pollution.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
