The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (the Standard) was launched which establishes the first global standard on tailings management that can be applied to existing and future tailings facilities, wherever they are and whoever operates them. Strengthening current practices in the mining industry by integrating social, environmental, local economic and technical considerations, the Standard covers the entire tailings facility lifecycle – from site selection, design and construction, through management and monitoring, to closure and post-closure.
With an ambition of zero harm to people and the environment, the Standard significantly raises the bar for the industry to achieve strong social, environmental and technical outcomes. It elevates accountability to the highest organisational levels and adds new requirements for independent oversight. The Standard also establishes clear expectations around global transparency and disclosure requirements, helping to improve understanding by interested stakeholders.
The Standard was developed through an independent process – the Global Tailings Review (GTR) –which was co-convened in March 2019 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) following the tragic tailings facility collapse at Brumadinho, Brazil, on 25 January 2019.
The co-conveners have each endorsed it and call for its broad and effective implementation across the industry:
- UNEP will support governments that wish to incorporate and build upon this Standard into their national or state legislation and policies.
- PRI, representing USD 103.4 trillion in assets under management, will be developing investor expectations to support all mining companies in implementing the Standard.
- ICMM member companies will implement the Standard as a commitment of membership, which includes robust site-level validation and third-party assessments.
The Standard covers six key topics: affected communities; integrated knowledge base; design, construction, operation and monitoring of tailings facilities; management and governance; emergency response and long-term recovery; and public disclosure and access to information. These topics contain 15 Principles and 77 specific auditable requirements for operators to adhere to.
Launch of the Standard is supported by two accompanying documents, published independently by the GTR Chair: an in-depth compendium of papers that explore various operational and governance issues related to tailings, and a report on the feedback from the public consultation. The GTR was chaired by Dr Oberle with the support of a multi-disciplinary Expert Panel and input from a multi-stakeholder Advisory Group. It involved extensive public consultation with affected communities, government representatives, investors, multilateral organisations and mining industry stakeholders and is informed by existing good practice and findings from past tailings facility failures.
