Global public consultation launched on tailings dam standards

According to Mining News Pro - The push for worldwide rules governing the construction and maintenance of mining waste storage facilities aims to prevent any repeat of the tailings dam disaster that in January hit the state of Minas Gerais, for the second time in four years, and which killed 300 people.

The review, backed by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), has been in the works since March this year.

The ICMM, a London-based industry group representing 27 major mining companies, had vowed earlier to set an independent panel of experts in charge of developing global standards for tailings facilities.

The goal, according to expert Bruno Oberle, who is chairing the review, is to decide on standards to be published in 2020.

“The public consultation phase allows for critique, feedback and suggestions from others that both informs and enriches the draft, he said in a statement.

Oberle noted that the document was part of a wider global drive to strengthen performance on tailings management, adding that the requirements of the draft could complement such initiatives.

The consultation he leads includes an online survey that has been translated into seven languages.

A parallel global inquiry into mining waste storage systems of more than 700 resources companies, launched in April by the Church of England (CoE) and fund managers, recently revealed that about a tenth of those structures have had stability issues.