Another Tailings Tragedy in Indonesia: Lessons from Fatufia

On March 22, 2025, a fatal tailings landslide struck the Fatufia region of Sulawesi, Indonesia, claiming the lives of three excavator operators. The landslide followed days of heavy rainfall and occurred in an area undergoing rapid mining development. While details remain limited, this incident marks the sixth major tailings failure globally in 2025 — and it may not be the only one at this site. Just days earlier, on March 16, significant flooding downstream was reported, with allegations of a tailings dam breach linked to another mining operator.

Tailings dams in Sulawesi face uniquely challenging conditions. The combination of steep terrain, high rainfall, and seismic activity creates an inherently unstable environment for tailings containment. According to geotechnical commentary, this region presents the “perfect storm” for dam failures, especially where lateritic soils and insufficient mechanical stability coincide.

Even more concerning is that the site at Fatufia reportedly operated under the label of a “dry stack” facility—a method generally regarded as safer. However, evidence of flooding and the presence of submerged equipment raises questions about whether best practices were truly being followed. With no clear information yet on the dam’s specifications, construction year, or capacity, transparency remains a major issue.

This tragedy underscores an urgent need for tighter regulatory oversight and robust engineering controls—especially in geologically sensitive zones. Tailings management in the tropics cannot rely on nominal classification alone. A dry stack in name must be a dry stack in performance, particularly where rainfall intensity and erosion potential are high.

Until the industry prioritizes site-specific risk, transparent data reporting, and failsafe design, these headlines will only continue.