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Where is it?Jagersfontein , South Africa [ -29.77177410 , 25.426807792 ]
What ’s in the photo?A trail of gilded mud winding like a river
A mining disaster in the South African town of Jagersfontein released a slurry of potentially toxic waste, known as tailings, into the surrounding countryside.
Which satellite took the photo?Landsat 9
When was it taken?Oct . 4 , 2022
This eery satellite trope shows agolden river of potentially toxic wastewinding across the countryside after a deadly disaster at a diamond mine in South Africa .
Before-and-after photos highlight the true scale of the glittering pollution.
On Sept. 11 , 2022 , a dam at a diamond mine in Jagersfontein on the spur of the moment collapsed , releasing a deluge of minelaying waste , know as tailings , which drag through the outskirt of the town and into the surrounding countryside , harmonize toNASA ’s Earth Observatory .
The disaster kill at least three the great unwashed and injured around 40 others , Bloombergreported at the meter . The implosion therapy also destroyed tons of theatre , damaged cell sound towers , exclude down roads , temporarily polluted drinking water and wash away century of sheep , Reutersreported .
In the photo , you may see the collapse section in the south rampart of the dam . From there , the tailings flowed down the hillside in a monumental , 1 - land mile - full ( 1.6 kilometer ) wave that eventually funneled into the nearby Wolwas Dam before spilling over into the adjoining Prosesspruit river .
Another aerial persona of the site taken the 24-hour interval before the disaster ( see below ) helps show the scale of the soaker that was unleashed .
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In total , the dried tailings cover around 10 square mi ( 26 solid klick ) of farmland . part of the Prosesspruit also appear to have widen , hint that the torrent of excavation waste may have eroded away the river ’s bank , fit in to the Earth Observatory .
It is unreadable if any of the shadowing remain in the area , but expert initially predicted that the dried thriftlessness would quickly fall apart and either be float aside by wind or lap aside by rain .
Toxic gold
tailing are a muddy mix of rubble , crushed rock , piss and other byproducts leave alone over from minelaying , according toEarthworks , a U.S.-based non - profit governance that stomach communities impact by mining and fogy fuel origin .
The surplus slurry often contains trace quantities of alloy , such as copper color , Hg , Cd and Zn , as well as other compound , include fossil oil , sulphuric acid and nitrile , fit in to Earthworks . This confection make the concoction appear gold when viewed from above , but also makes it potentially deadly to brute .
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The baseball diamond mine , once the deepest script - excavate mess in the worldly concern , was also damaged from the flooding and has not reopened since the disaster . It is not clear if it ever will .
The mine produced two of the creation ’s eight largest baseball diamond — the Excelsior Diamond and the Reitz Diamond , also known as the Golden Jubilee Diamond , allot to theCape Town Diamond Museum .
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