On May 6, 2025, the International Peace Information Service (IPIS) published a report about community perspectives on the compensation and restoration progress at the Pink Diamond mines (formerly William diamond mines) in Tanzania following the mines collapse. In November 2022, a major accident occurred at the Williamson diamond mine in Tanzania’s Shinyanga region, when approximately 150 meters of the eastern wall of the mine’s tailings storage facility (TSF) collapsed. This released a large volume of tailings slurry that spread northeast, covering an estimated 5.4 km² in a single day and severely impacting land and water resources in and around the mine concession.

Over the past 2.5 years, IPIS interviewed 34 local residents about the accident, its long-term impacts and the remediation efforts undertaken by the mining company. Communities decried inadequate compensation and insufficient consultations during the compensation process. An emerging concern involves access to land for which households received compensation. Affected residents understood that compensation was intended solely for damages, but many now report being prohibited from returning to their land, even where only a portion of it was damaged by the tailings mud.

Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited Pink Diamonds (formerly William diamond mines) to respond to the allegations. Pink Diamonds welcomed IPIS’s report and acknowledged the concerns in relation to the restoration and remediation efforts following the tailings dam failure at the mines in Tanzania. Pink Diamonds, the mine’s new owners, stated that the company remains fully committed to implementing all resettlement and compensation activities in a manner that is lawful, fair, transparent, and aligned with international best practices. The company suspended production following the dam break and in its restoration efforts, adhered to both the legislated valuation processes under Tanzanian law and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 5 on Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement.

A full response from Pink Diamonds Mines can be found below.