PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) on Thursday said that the newly released Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management would help support the safe management of tailings facilities around the world.

The International Council on Mining and Minerals and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) have launched global standards for the safe management of mine tailings, laying out a set of industry protocols.

Comprising six topic areas, 15 principles and 77 auditable requirements, the standard will ultimately be supported by implementation protocols that will provide detailed guidance for certification, or assurance as applicable, and for equivalence with other standards.

The standard was combined 18 months after the tailings dam disaster at the Corrego do Feijão mine in Brazil that killed 270 people.

“These dams are some of the largest human-made structures on the planet and require careful ongoing management,” Unesco Professor of marine science Elaine Baker from the School of Geosciences and GRID-Arendal at the University of Sydney, who is member of the international advisory panel that oversaw the development of the new protocols, said.

“While large-scale failures of tailings dams are uncommon, when they do occur, they can be catastrophic for downstream communities and the environment.”

“The differences between the global standard and many existing standards for tailings dam management include provisions for greater consultation from the outset with potentially affected communities,” Baker said.

The Director of the UNEP Economy Division, Ligia Noronha, said that the global industry standard on tailings management is an important milestone towards the ambition of zero harm to people and the environment from tailings facilities.

The standard will strengthen current practices in the mining industry by integrating social, environmental, local economic and technical considerations. The new standard covers the entire tailings facility lifecycle, from site selection, design and construction, management and monitoring, through to closure and post-closure.

“It also includes increased independent engineering oversight at all stages of tailings management; more transparent mine operator accountability; increased public access to consequence of failure information; and an increased standard of reporting,” Baker said.

“These initiatives represent a system-wide change in tailings management.”

MCA CEO Tania Constable on Thursday said that while current tailings management practices in Australia were advanced and highly regulated, the industry is committed to continuous improvement as part of its culture of safe and responsible resource development.

“The standard and forthcoming guidance will be reviewed in line with the Australian minerals industry’s commitment.

“The industry is supporting the development of advanced tailings-specific training courses which include among others the Future Tails program at the University of Western Australia backed by MCA members BHP and Rio Tinto.

“These efforts will help ensure Australia has ongoing access to the high-quality expertise needed to ensure continued safe operation of tailings facilities into the future.”