(Springer Nature, 2023-04-05) Torres-Cruz, L.A.; O'Donovan, C.
A mine waste deposit known as a tailings dam recently failed in the town of Jagersfontein, South
Africa. The failure occurred amidst global concern about the safety record of these structures. Herein
we use public remotely sensed data to gain insights into the construction history of the dam. The
data suggest a construction sequence that is inconsistent with sound tailings management practices:
asymmetric deposition, erosion gullies, large ponds and absence of beaches. These observations
highlight the criticality of adhering to good construction practices and the potential of public data to
monitor such adherence. Additionally, we present commercially available very high resolution satellite
images to illustrate some of the immediate consequences of the failure.