Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Mining / tailings dam · Angola · 2021

Angolan diamond mine tailings leak: DR Congo reports 12 dead, about 4,400 patients

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

The DR Congo government reported 12 deaths and about 4,400 patients after a tailings leak from the Catoca diamond mine in Angola. Al Jazeera reported that no one had accepted responsibility, and the sources reviewed do not describe effects on rivers or wildlife.

What?
A tailings leak from the Catoca diamond mine in Angola was followed by 12 deaths reported by the DR Congo government. Al Jazeera
Where?
Catoca diamond mine, Angola; deaths and illnesses reported by the DR Congo government. Al Jazeera
When?
2021; Al Jazeera reported the figures on 2 September 2021. Al Jazeera
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • People affected in DR Congo — 12 deaths and about 4,400 patients reported by the DR Congo government Al Jazeera
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
A tailings leak from the mine; the sources reviewed do not describe its cause. Al Jazeera
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The DR Congo government reported 12 deaths and about 4,400 patients after the leak, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera reported that responsibility for the leak had not been accepted.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not describe the cause of the leak, the rivers affected, or any clean-up or compensation.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say who benefits from the mine's output.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.

    Science and environment

    Tailings and tailings dam
    Tailings are the waste left after ore is processed; a tailings dam is the embankment that stores them as wet sludge.