[SMM Chromium Flash] Samancor's Collapsed Dikwena Chrome Tailings Dam Was Never Registered, Probe Finds

A government investigation into the August 13 collapse of a tailings storage facility at Samancor's Dikwena Chrome complex near Brits, North West, has found the facility was showing persistent seepages prior to the failure and that the collapse was reasonably foreseeable based on available evidence, according to a Notice of Orders issued by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources and reported by Daily Maverick. The department's findings also indicate the facility appears not to have been registered with the Department of Water and Sanitation, raising questions about compliance oversight at the site before the incident occurred.

The facility, known as the Inyoni tailings storage facility, forms part of Samancor's Dikwena chrome plant complex and is operated by contractor One Chrome, a company reported to have no public website. The collapse sent slurry into the neighboring Eland mine, owned by Northam Platinum, which briefly closed an access road as a precaution. Updated reporting indicates one injury was recorded alongside no fatalities. Samancor Chrome itself is unlisted and is no longer a member of the Minerals Council South Africa, a body whose members commit to industry safety and governance standards.

The findings add a regulatory compliance dimension to a case that had previously centered on the physical and environmental impact of the failure. South Africa's tailings storage facility guidelines date back to 1998 and are currently under revision, and at least one senior mining executive has said they were unaware of any operation that actually follows them, pointing to a broader industry gap in registration and compliance practices beyond this single incident. The scope of enforcement action beyond the Notice of Orders, along with the full extent of environmental damage and rehabilitation costs, has not yet been disclosed.