governance Featured Items
Publication

Conformance Protocols: Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management

The Conformance Protocols help operators and independent third parties assess implementation of the Standard’s requirements, and ultimately to demonstrate conformance. They map to the Standard’s 77 requirements using 219 clear and concise criteria. Effective assessment of conformance to the Standard through ICMM’s Conformance Protocols will help to demonstrate to all stakeholders that responsible practices are being applied across the tailings lifecycle.

Tailings Dam Safety conformance governance good practice standard Design Risk Emergency Response
Publication Event

Key considerations when developing a risk management framework for tailings facilities, MGR 2019: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Mining Geomechanical Risk, MGR 2019

Risk management is a key component of any effective corporate tailings governance framework. Uncertainty is inherent to a mining company's business activities and may present both risk and opportunity. An integrated risk-based approach assists management in identifying, evaluating, prioritising and managing key risks to the achievement of the mining company's strategic objectives, as well as opportunities to enhance performance and value. Corporate risk management frameworks are typically designed to manage risks at the enterprise or operational level with specific definitions for consequence and likelihood. Challenges can develop in accurately ranking tailings-related risks when utilising an operational-level corporate risk management framework. This paper highlights various corporate risk management approaches and discusses some key considerations when developing a tailings risk management framework and governance model.

risk management tailings governance framework corporate strategy
Publication Event

Tailings dam safety: going beyond technical, Paste 2019: Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Paste, Thickened and Filtered Tailings, Paste 2019

The criticality of effective stewardship of tailings facilities has recently gained increasing recognition and triggered much effort on the part of the many mining companies across the world. The world of mining, and in particular the mine waste management practice area, is changing dramatically after the recent tragic events following the tailings dam failure in Brazil in January 2019. Investors, communities, shareholders, nongovernmental organisations, regulators and insurance companies are looking to the tailings storage facilities and their management through a completely different lens; one that focuses on the need for implementing best available practices (BAP), best applicable technologies (BAT), and how the zero repeats commitment of the mining industry will be achieved. This presentation outlines Anglo American’s approach to building a world-class tailings storage facilities practice, which includes a number of key must-have ingredients: A solid and strict governance framework for the oversight of a large portfolio of tailings and water dams in a global environment, where stringent minimum technical standards are implemented with non-negotiable requirements. The need for people with the right set of skills, competencies, and technical knowledge, but also the mindset on safety and the ‘do the right thing’ approach that needs to be part of their DNA. The critical controls definition and implementation to ensure each facility is planned, built and managed safely to design requirements, minimising the presence of the ‘surprise’ effect, and in particular the minimisation of the human error element factor. Pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation in tailings production, deposition, and management of such facilities. From minimising the tailings production, to high tech near real-time monitoring instrumentation and surveillance technologies, all are key ingredients in building a global success story. Implementing the Anglo American dam safety management program at a global level does not come without challenges. The presentation will discuss the strategy and share some of the success stories, as well as lessons learned along the Anglo American journey since 2014, when the company transformed its internal technical requirements, raising the bar to a whole new level.

dam safety governance dam monitoring dam surveillance tailings dam tailings management
Publication

Tailings Management: Good Practice Guide

This guidance is intended to support safe, responsible management of tailings across the global mining industry, with the ultimate goal of eliminating fatalities and catastrophic events. It provides guidance on good governance and engineering practices that will support continual improvement in the management of tailings facilities and help foster and strengthen a corporate safety culture, with focus in the six key areas outlined in the 2016 Tailings Governance Framework: 1) Accountability, Responsibility, and Competency; 2) Planning and Resourcing; 3) Risk Management; 4) Change Management; 5) Emergency Preparedness and Response; and 6) Review and Assurance

Tailings Dam Safety good practice guidance governance change management emergency preparedness Emergency Response assurance Risk Design
Publication Event

Use of the excavation compliance indicator at the Oyu Tolgoi copper–gold mine, Mongolia, MGR 2019: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Mining Geomechanical Risk, MGR 2019

Systematic assessment of ‘as-built’ open pit mine slopes is required to verify that slope design criteria are appropriate for the ground conditions and that slope designs are being correctly implemented by mine operations. It is imperative that design bench geometry and inter-ramp slope angles are delivered (in order to meet scheduled production targets), slope design acceptance criteria are achieved, and that geotechnical design risks are appropriately managed, so that the design intent is met. The excavation compliance indicator (ECI) as developed by Seery and Lapwood (2007) and presents a methodology for quantifying compliance to design via measurement of the ‘as-built’ individual geometrical elements that comprise the bench geometry; i.e. bench face angle (BFA), crest position, toe position and catch bench width (CBW). Measurements of these elements are combined and weighted in order to deliver an overall slope design conformance metric (i.e. the ECI score). The technique enables valuable insights into the contributing factors that adversely affect design implementation conformance, thereby enabling operational practices to be modified in order to deliver improved design achievement. This paper outlines how the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) open pit geotechnical team implements ECI and how it is integrated into their design reconciliation workflow. This paper also provides some recommendations for improving the ECI process.

pit design design achievement excavation compliance indicator governance criteria
Publication Event

What are the real risks for tailings facilities?, MGR 2019: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Mining Geomechanical Risk, MGR 2019

The movement towards risk-based design and operation of tailings storage facilities (TSFs) has taken place over the last few decades. The establishment of the consequence of failure of a facility is used to determine the design criteria to be used in its design. These criteria generally set the acceptable return periods for seismic and hydrologic events that the facility must accommodate. In addition, there are generally several levels of risk assessment of the design carried out to highlight technical risks that require particular attention and controls to manage. These are usually addressed in the design phase of project development. Despite this focus on technical risk assessment at the design phases of the development of a TSF, there is still a significant number of failures occurring every year. In recent times, there have been a number of high profile TSF failures in facilities owned by major mining houses and/or located in highly regulated, first world countries. In almost every case, the investigations into the failures have been carried out by high profile, internationally recognised geotechnical engineers who have identified the technical reasons for the failure. In many cases, it has been shown that the root causes of the failures have been a failure in governance, capital constraints, change management, independent reviews, construction supervision, operation, etc. The investigation of failures and reports to the public are almost exclusively focused on the technical cause with much less focus on what is often the underlying root cause. A number of international mining industry groups have recognised the lack of effective governance as being a major risk that could lead to TSF failures. The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) are two examples. In this paper, the various methods for risk assessment and management are described. Non-technical risks that arise in the design and operation of TSFs are discussed and importance of good governance and continuity of its application during the full lifecycle of the facilities is emphasised.

risk assessment non-technical risks tailings management governance