FIFI PETERS: Let’s get to the newest on the Jagersfontein story. The photographs of the city in the Free State circulating on social media following the collapse of the dam – fairly devastating, the collapse of that dam, which contained mining waste. It triggered fairly heavy floods, damaging a number of properties and injuring a number of folks. And, in line with the newest report, I learn and heard it has killed three folks.
We have on the road Marius de Villiers, who’s the authorized compliance officer at Jagersfontein Developments, which owns the mine. Marius, thanks a lot for becoming a member of us. What are you able to inform us about what the state of affairs is trying like proper now?
MARIUS DE VILLIERS: Good night, Fifi… The present place is that we’re mainly nonetheless in the emergency mode, if I can name it that. The plans are there and we are attempting to ascertain the place so far as we’re involved. I heard you talked about three folks died. At this stage we now have just one confirmed fatality that we received from the SA Police Service.
Yes, there have been clearly a number of authorities officers [here] at present. My complete day was mainly saved busy with the Department of Water Affairs, which is the regulating authority in this occasion.
So all of the individuals who had homes swept away, we’ve organized lodging for them, meals is given. So loads is being carried out by the corporate. We’ve additionally donated R20 million to those efforts, getting the folks resettled and the damages restricted so far as potential.
FIFI PETERS: Sure. We do know that the president was mentioned to go to the city at present. As you mentioned, you’ve been chatting with plenty of authorities officers. I think about that you just’ve been [peppered] by questions as to what occurred and the way this occurred. What has your response to those officers been?
MARIUS DE VILLIERS: At this stage clearly our largest concern is with the protection of the folks and their belongings. But what we did is [with] the Department of Water officers we established what the state of affairs is, what the mining threat is. And we mainly spent the entire day busy with that, [with] our personal engineers. We’ve instructed an environmental staff to have a look at the environmental damages.
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We have a division that began trying on the homes and the way we’re going to repair [things], clearly in collaboration with the victims.
So sure, it’s an ongoing course of and I’m positive we is not going to get to a solution very quickly. It’s the engineers that must decide and are available to a conclusion as to what really occurred.
FIFI PETERS: From my analysis into Jagersfontein Developments – you obtain this mine in April from a consortium which included the billionaire Johann Rupert, whose firm Reinet was a part of that consortium in April. There are additionally questions across the involvement of De Beers, the possession of De Beers proper now. But, given the truth that this tragedy has occurred round 5 months after the acquisition of the mine, do you assume you might be owed any solutions from the folks you obtain this from?
MARIUS DE VILLIERS: Fifi, no. If I can possibly make clear that place, Jagersfontein Developments purchased this property and the dumps in 2010 from De Beers. So Mr Rupert and Reinet had been concerned as a shareholder, and so they offered their shareholding in March this 12 months.
So Jagersfontein Developments remains to be the proprietor, and there was only a change in shareholding. So the best way it was put now is just not right.
FIFI PETERS: Okay. Thanks for setting the report straight. But you additionally mentioned on the time {that a} thorough due diligence into the protection of the mine was carried out and, simply taking a look at what has occurred proper now, are you able to say with full confidence that the proper processes had been adopted in that due diligence?
MARIUS DE VILLIERS: Yes. I simply need to offer you an instance. Remember the shareholding modified, however administration remained the identical. For occasion, we had engineer stories in June this 12 months declaring the mine protected and we needed to adjust to our water-use licence, which regulates… on the water use licence. So that was carried out.
One of the [stipulations] was that we on a quarterly foundation needed to do an engineers’ report on the protection of the dam.
That was carried out and we had been inside the limits. So it’s very troublesome for me now, at this stage, to say the due diligence had nothing to do with the state of affairs. As far as we’re involved as administration, the compliance was there so far as the water-use licence is worried
FIFI PETERS: All proper, Marius, I’m going to have to depart it there simply in the curiosity of time, sir. But we’ll definitely be following the story actually carefully, and hopefully catching up with you at a later stage.
Marius de Villiers is the authorized compliance officer of Jagersfontein Developments.