A six-week public consultation launched this week to establish an international standard on mine tailings. Input from key stakeholders will be used to help draft the standard, which which seeks to strengthen the safety and security of tailings facilities.
The Global Tailings Review, co-convened by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), is drafting the Global Tailings Standard to help prevent catastrophic failures, such as the one following the tailings dam collapse at Brumadinho, Brazil in January 2019.
Tailings are a common by-product of the process of extracting valuable minerals and metals from mined ore. Effective tailings management, therefore, is integral to the safe and sustainable production of metals and minerals.
“Tailings dam failures are no accidents. They are tragedies. While minerals are important to the green energy transition and sustainable development, ensuring human and ecosystem well-being is of paramount importance,” said Ligia Noronha, Director of UNEP’s Economy Division.
The public consultation will take place in two parts – through an online survey, which has been translated into seven languages, and by in-country consultations across a range of mining jurisdictions in the northern and southern hemispheres. The consultation process ends on 31 December 2019.
The draft standard will address a number of key topics, including the design, construction, operation and monitoring of tailings facilities, management and governance, emergency response and long-term recovery, and public disclosure and access to information.
“The draft standard is one part of a wider global drive to strengthen performance on tailings management and the requirements of the draft Standard can complement these initiatives, for example, in areas such as corporate governance and public reporting," said Dr. Oberle, Chair of the Global Tailings Review.
The final standard and accompanying recommendations report, which will outline broader proposals to support the uptake and implementation of the Standard, is expected to be published in 2020.