17/08/2026
PRESS STATEMENT
***WaterCAN calls for urgent environmental assessment following Dikwena tailings dam collapse***
WaterCAN is calling for an immediate, coordinated environmental response following the collapse of a tailings storage facility at Samancor Chrome’s Dikwena operation near Brits on 13 August 2026.
The collapse released a large volume of mining sludge onto the surrounding area, including neighbouring Northam Platinum’s Eland Mine, and into a nearby river tributary. The incident has already caused significant physical damage, including damage to power infrastructure and a railway line. But the greatest concern now is what cannot necessarily be seen: what is contained in the sludge, where it is moving, and what risks it poses to surface water, groundwater, soil, ecosystems, livestock and communities.
WaterCAN Executive Director Dr Ferrial Adam said authorities cannot wait for visible signs of pollution downstream before responding. “We need to know exactly what has been released. A tailings dam does not contain harmless mud. Until the material has been properly characterised, we do not know what contaminants have entered the environment or what risks they pose to water resources, ecosystems, livestock and people.”
The immediate priority must be independent testing of the sludge and the environment it has entered.
WaterCAN is calling for urgent sampling and analysis of:
• the tailings material itself;
• the affected river and tributaries, both upstream and downstream;
• groundwater and boreholes in the potentially affected area;
• sediments, particularly where fine material has accumulated;
• affected agricultural and other soils; and
• appropriate biological indicators where necessary to establish ecological toxicity.
Testing must go beyond basic water-quality parameters. The chemical composition of the tailings must be established, including heavy metals and other potentially toxic elements, pH, electrical conductivity, sulphates and other relevant contaminants, together with appropriate ecotoxicological assessment.
This is particularly important because research from South Africa’s platinum-mining regions has demonstrated that mining-affected soils and sediments can contain elevated concentrations of metals including chromium and nickel, while other studies have identified combinations of cadmium, iron, manganese, nickel, platinum and lead as contributors to toxicity. These findings do not establish what is present in the Dikwena spill, but they demonstrate why assumptions about the safety of mining tailings are unacceptable.
“We should not be asking whether the sludge looks dangerous. We should be asking what is in it, what happens when it enters water, whether contaminants are mobile, and whether they are toxic to aquatic life and potentially harmful to people and animals,” said Adam.
WaterCAN is calling on the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, the North West provincial authorities and all other relevant agencies to establish a coordinated incident response.
That response must include:
1. Immediate containment of the released material and prevention of further movement into water resources.
2. Independent baseline and incident sampling upstream and downstream of the affected area.
3. Full chemical characterisation of the tailings, rather than relying on routine water-quality testing alone.
4. Eco-toxicological testing to determine whether the material is harmful to aquatic organisms and ecosystems.
5. Groundwater monitoring to determine whether contaminants are infiltrating beyond the immediate spill area.
6. Public disclosure of all sampling locations, parameters tested and results.
7. A clear assessment of whether communities, farmers, livestock or other users of local water resources are at risk.
8. A transparent investigation into the cause of the tailings facility failure, including whether design, construction, operation, maintenance, monitoring or regulatory failures contributed to the collapse.
9. Application of the polluter-pays principle, with the responsible mining company bearing the costs of containment, investigation, remediation, rehabilitation and long-term monitoring.
“Communities cannot be expected to wait for government departments to work out who is responsible while contaminated mining waste moves through the environment. The responsibility is clear: contain the pollution, test the water and establish the risks. And if pollution has occurred, the polluter must pay for the full cost of containment, clean-up and long-term monitoring,” Adam said. “The public has a right to know what has been released, whether water resources have been contaminated, what the risks are and who is paying to clean it up.”
The incident should also be treated as a warning about the vulnerability of tailings storage facilities and the consequences when failures occur. South Africa has already experienced the devastating consequences of tailings dam failures, most notably at Jagersfontein in 2022.
“A tailings dam collapse is not simply a mining incident,” said Adam. “Once mining waste enters a river system, it becomes a water, environmental and public-interest crisis. The response must therefore be immediate, scientifically rigorous and transparent.”
WaterCAN is calling for government to act now - before contamination travels further downstream and before communities are left trying to determine whether their water is safe after the fact.
