According to an incident report by the Eland Mine management team, employees from the Maroelabult shaft noticed at around 17:30 that the access road from the R566 towards the shaft road was covered with flowing mud-like material.
“It was later discovered by Eland Mine, through visual observations, that the Samancor Dikwena Tailings Facility sidewalls facing towards the Eland Mine Maroelabult shaft had collapsed.”
According to reports, several vehicles at Eland Mine were swept away by the sludge flood, but no one was injured.
The flooding has caused a widespread power outage affecting Brits and surrounding areas, as far as Hennops.
“According to the most recent feedback from Eskom, the damage is far greater than was suspected. The team is currently on the terrain to evaluate the situation,” said Madibeng councillor Elsa Lourens.
“Eskom suggests that customers consider making use of alternative power sources such as generators. At this stage it cannot be established how long repair work will take.”
There are also fears that the vast amount of sludge could have a detrimental effect on groundwater and seriously contaminate irrigation canals in the area.
Conservationists have raised serious concerns over the possible contamination of irrigation canals in the area.
“We don’t know what chemicals the sludge contains. This can potentially have hazardous implications for farmers irrigating crops from the canals,” said John Wesson of WESSA.
Hartbeespoort News has not yet been able to reach the relevant mine officials.
