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(Image credit: NASA/Landsat/Lauren Dauphin)
FAST FACTS
Where is it? Jagersfontein, South Africa [-29.77177410, 25.426807792]
What’s in the picture? A path of golden mud winding like a river
Which satellite took the image? Landsat 9
When was it taken? Oct. 4, 2022
This spooky satellite image reveals a golden river of possibly hazardous waste winding throughout the countryside after a fatal catastrophe at a diamond mine in South Africa.
On Sept. 11, 2022, a dam at a diamond mine in Jagersfontein unexpectedly collapsed, launching a deluge of mining waste, referred to as tailings, which swept through the borders of the town and into the surrounding countryside, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory
The catastrophe eliminated a minimum of 3 individuals and hurt around 40 others, Bloomberg reported at the time. The flooding likewise ruined lots of homes, harmed mobile phone towers, closed down roadways, momentarily contaminated drinking water and removed numerous sheep, Reuters reported.
In the picture, you can see the collapsed area in the south wall of the dam. From there, the tailings streamed down the hillside in an enormous, 1-mile-wide (1.6 kilometers) wave that ultimately funneled into the close-by Wolwas Dam before spilling over into the adjacent Prosesspruit river.
Another aerial picture of the website taken the day before the catastrophe (see listed below) assists reveal the scale of the gush that was let loose.
Related: See all the very best pictures of Earth from area
Before-and-after images highlight the real scale of the glittering contamination. (Image credit: NASA/Landsat/Laura Dauphin)
In overall, the dried tailings covered around 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) of farmland. Parts of the Prosesspruit likewise appear to have actually broadened, recommending that the gush of mining waste might have deteriorated away the river’s banks, according to the Earth Observatory.
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It is uncertain if any of the tailings stay in the location, however professionals at first anticipated that the dried waste would rapidly collapse and either be blown away by wind or gotten rid of by rain.
Hazardous gold
Tailings are a muddy mix of dust, gravel, water and other by-products left over from mining, according to Earthworksa U.S.-based non-profit company that supports neighborhoods affected by mining and nonrenewable fuel source extraction.
The surplus slurry typically includes trace amounts of metals, such as copper, mercury, cadmium and zinc, in addition to other substances, consisting of petroleum, sulfuric acid and cyanide, according to Earthworks. This mixture makes the mix appear gold when seen from above, however likewise makes it possibly deadly to animals.
The diamond mine, when the inmost hand-excavated hole worldwide, was likewise harmed from the flooding and has actually not resumed considering that the catastrophe. It is unclear if it ever will.
The mine produced 2 of the world’s 8 biggest diamonds– the Excelsior Diamond and the Reitz Diamond, likewise referred to as the Golden Jubilee Diamond, according to the Cape Town Diamond Museum
Harry is a U.K.-based senior personnel author at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to end up being a reporter. He covers a vast array of subjects consisting of area expedition, planetary science, area weather condition, environment modification, animal habits and paleontology. His current deal with the solar optimum won “best space submission” at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the “top scoop” classification at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He likewise composes Live Science’s weekly Earth from area series.
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