Jagersfontein

Jagersfontein, town, southwestern Free State province, South Africa, southwest of Bloemfontein. The town is historically known as a diamond-mining center. A 50-carat diamond found on a farm in the area in 1870 led to the establishment of the town in 1882 and the opening of a diamond pipe mine six years later. Some of the largest rough diamonds ever discovered in the world were taken from this mine—the Excelsior of 995 carats (in 1893) and the Reitz of 650 carats (in 1895; later cut into the Jubilee). The Jagersfontein mine closed during the Great Depression, reopened after World War II, but closed once again in the 1970s. Sheep are raised in the semi-arid area surrounding the town. In September 2022, a dam holding back tailings (a slurry of waste products from mining operations) from the Jagersfontein mine collapsed, sending an estimated 211,888,000 cubic feet (6 million cubic meters) of sludge flowing into the town and its environs. The disaster killed at least 2 people and injured many more, polluted rivers and thousands of acres of farmland, and destroyed more than 160 homes. Pop. (2011) 5,730.