Abstract

This study provides a sociohistorical account of decisions made over a 150-year period about the Jagersfontein mine in South Africa's Free State and the catastrophic failure of its tailings dam that occurred in the early morning of 11 September 2022. The failure resulted in the sudden and uncontrolled release of more than 6 million m3 of liquid sludge, smothering nearly 200 nearby houses and approximately 1,600 ha of agricultural and grazing land. Two people died, and one remains missing. Our account of this disaster shows the analytic force of examining the history of the mine's development, the issues decision-makers faced at various points in time, the choices made and the cumulative influence of these conditions on human vulnerability. We present a disaster timeline over four historical periods, linking sources and literature to each significant point in the timeline. It is one of the only available tailings dam failure timelines linked to the social context through historical analysis.