CSOs 4 Tailings Justice

We are committed to building democratic community power to address the dangers of mine waste, including tailings facilities.

  • CONCEPT NOTE: Building Safety First – Together and from Below

    3rd Annual Tailings and Mine Waste Conference and Workshop

    Save the Date: 9 to 11 September 2026 | Johannesburg, South Africa

     Sino Metals tailings dam failure in Chambishi, Zambia (Feb 2025). This occurred  in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, contaminating the Kafue River, destroying livelihoods for hundreds of people.

    The Tailings Working Group was formally launched in January 2024 under the banner of CSOs 4 Tailings Justice. Our mission is to build democratic community power to confront the dangers of mine waste and tailings facilities. We address the deadly asymmetry of power between corporations, a fragmented state, and poor and working-class communities living next to these toxic legacies. This is the third year of organising the Tailings Workshop and Conference. In our inaugural year, we highlighted the persistent complaint—at least in South Africa – of the multiplicity of laws and policies that limit tailings dam governance that is fair to all people, in particular working people, the poor, plant and animal life, and the ecology at large. Tailings remain a danger for us, here and everywhere.

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  • Response to CEO and Minister Mantashe

    From the video it looks quite expansive and wide. Before the solutions proffered by the CEO, in his X, we need to know the extent of the damage – preferably to be done by independent experts.
    https://x.com/JacaNewswatch/status/2089290668505960695

    As indicated in our initial press release, under Chapter 12 of the NWA, tailings facilities meeting safety risk criteria (such as wall height and storage capacity) must be registered and managed under strict engineering standards. We have not seen this company on the dam register. Reports are emerging now about concerns for the seepage into our groundwater sources of the thick, muddy sludge that has impacted onto nearby roads, damaging Eskom infrastructure and disrupting power.People must be at the centre of safety and leaders must include affected communities in understanding what happened and what plans exist to remedy these.

  • Another Tailings Disaster in South Africa: Where is the Leadership?

    Subtitle: The silence following the Samancor’s Dikwena Chrome spill, outside Brits, Northwest Province, South Africa, is a failure of accountability.

    Image credit: Hartebeespoort News

    Just days before we commemorate the tragic anniversary of Marikana—where 34 mineworkers lost their lives at the hands of the state—South Africa has been struck by another industrial disaster. On the evening of August 13, 2026, the Samancor Dikwena Chrome Tailings Facility near Brits in North West Province failed. Preliminary reports suggest a structural breach sent a slurry of mud-like material flowing across an access road near Eland Mine’s Maroelabult shaft.

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  • WEBINAR: Making Sense of the DWS Tailings Report

    After months of campaigning for the Department of Water & Sanitation’s report to be released, it was eventually made public and can be accessed here. This activism is an integral part of our Tailings Literacy Programme, which is central to building community power. After years of demanding that the report be made public, we finally organised a webinar on 8 May 2026, featuring Professors S.W. Jabobsz and Luis A. Torres-Cruz. The workshop, aimed at educating communities on what we can learn from the disaster, was a success.

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  • The Human Rights Crisis of Brute-Force AI

    Submission to the South African Human Rights Commission by Data-Centres, Surveillance, Control Working Group – Johannesburg, 30 July 2026

    “A more viable, scientifically grounded alternative exists: distributed, scaled-down data
    centre infrastructure that prioritises resource sovereignty, community benefit, environmental
    sustainability, and agricultural protection over brute-force extraction. It is our contention
    that through the establishment of regulatory standards that mandate distributed
    infrastructure, comprehensive human rights impact assessments, and community consent,
    South Africa can protect both constitutional rights and the environment. We should not be
    misguided by the tyranny of market forces. We must choose digital infrastructure that is in
    the service of our people and our planet.” — Download the report here

  • The Great AI Policy Heist

    How Government’s New Plan Paves a Four-Lane Highway for the Oligarchs

    By Nicholas H. Tucker, 29 July 2026

    I had to to rub my eyes in utter disbelief when a colleague pointed me towards a news article this morning, South Africa’s digital future is at a crossroads, and the government is signaling it will throw open the gates for the world’s tech giants while handing you, the citizen, an empty bag. The article alluded to above is not a murmur, but a loud warning about South Africa’s AI policy being “rethought.” What’s being planned is not a rethink but a retreat. The government is preparing to abandon comprehensive rules for a “light-touch” approach that leaves each industry sector to write its own AI strategy. Let’s be clear what this really means, and why it should terrify every South African.

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