In January 2019 the Brumadinho Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) failed, resulting in the
deaths of 270 people. This was the second major fatal TSF failure in four years, which led to
an industry-wide review of tailings management and the subsequent release of the Global
Industry Standard on Tailings Management (the Standard) in August 2020.
The Standard provides a framework for the management of tailings facilities, with a goal of
zero harm to people and the environment, and zero tolerance for human fatality. It specifies
the implementation of best practices to the whole life cycle of the facility (planning, design,
construction, operation, closure, post-closure) with water management an important part of
this. Water is a key risk to TSF management and the underlying source of many failures.
Since the release of the Standard, there has been increasing interest in improving the
governance and management of water in TSFs, primarily in areas such as the integration
with wider site water management throughout the mine life, improved monitoring and change
management, dam break assessments, and the incorporation of climate change assessments.
To better understand these changes an online survey was established, to collect information
on the current understanding of the Standard and its relationship with water management
across different areas of the industry and at different levels of organisations.
This paper presents current thinking around how the Standards will affect mine water
management, through the presentation of industry feedback and the results of an industry
survey.