HIGH PROFILE
Driving tailings management forward
The big challenge globally remains a shortage in available competent and experienced tailings engineers and reviewers
Tamara Johndrow , Director Tailings & Water , Freeport- McMoRan and the Tailings 2021 * event Chair , talks to IM about the new Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management and how it is changing mining
Q What are the biggest challenges of tailings management in the international mining industry ? A The greatest challenge globally is a shortage in available competent and experienced tailings engineers and reviewers . Looking back a decade or more , there weren ’ t any academic programs for tailings engineering and management . To manage the situation , operators like Freeport- McMoRan and engineering consultants sought engineers from related disciplines like geotechnical engineering and created continuing education materials and career paths so that they could develop their own operators and engineers . Fast-forward to today and nearly every mining operator , regulator , insurance underwriter , consultant , and vendor is rampingup planning , design services , operations , surveillance , and oversight , as well as R & D and manufacturing of related products / equipment in the tailings space . The launch of the Tailings Standard in 2020 greatly exacerbated the supply – demand deficit that already existed . While the international mining industry faces a real supply shortage in competent and experienced tailings engineers and reviewers , this challenge has also created a new market in which numerous university consortia , consultants , and mine operators are developing and enhancing tailings engineering and management courses and programs . As a result , I anticipate that the industry will be in a much better position in a decade .
Q What are the major impacts on the global mining industry regarding the implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management ? A The Standard is serving to increase awareness and understanding of some of key aspects of managing tailings facilities and it is formalising practices that many mining companies were already implementing . Through rigorous application of topics related to good engineering practice and governance and incorporating relevant supporting international guidelines , such as the ICMM Tailings Management Good Practice Guide , the mining industry can strive for its ambitious goal of zero harm through preventing catastrophic failures . Continual improvement of safe facility performance will be achieved through diligent day-to-day efforts on design , construction , operations , closure , and frequent multi-layered review processes and governance around those . Use of an integrated knowledge base informs decision making and understanding of risks . Community engagement and disclosures on tailings risks and transparency about how tailings are governed and managed , will help enhance trust in the mining industry . The Conformance Protocols for
the Standard , published by ICMM in May , provide both Operators and independent thirdparty assessors access to the same criteria to measure progress towards conformance and avoid misinterpretation of the Standard . The Standard ’ s scope and framework will have a lasting impact and broad uptake due to the coconvened process and commitments from each of the co-conveners going forward . The multidisciplinary topics of the Standard help underpin good practice and drive valuable opportunities for continual improvement .
Q What is the importance of innovation and new technologies in the optimisation and efficiency of tailings ? A Today , there are a plethora of available technologies to enhance monitoring and surveillance of tailings facilities such as automated data collection from instruments and remote sensing . It is incumbent on the mining industry to examine these technologies to determine what will enhance safe management of a given facility . Regardless of the specific technology selected , the most important aspect of tailings facility safety is selecting thresholds through good engineering practices and having solid action plans around those . The industry is learning to effectively integrate “ multiple accounts analysis ” ( MAA ) as a tool to help assess relatively new technically viable and economically feasible large-scale mining solutions relative to well-established options for managing tailings . Continued innovation and understanding of applicability of new technologies will inevitably enhance overall performance of tailings facilities in the future but always will need to be considered on a site-by-site basis .
Q Is there anything else you would like to add on how the industry should move forward ? A The most important aspect of tailings management , especially considering capacity challenges , is continuing to drive quality and efficacy of planning , engineering , operations , and management , not just focusing on the validation outcomes or seeking a “ certificate ” of conformance . The mining industry will need to continue to focus on good engineering and governance practices in the face of important , albeit timeconsuming , additional layers of disclosure and oversight created by the Standard .
* The virtual Gecamin Tailings 2021 Conference will be held September 1-3 and will include more than 100 technical papers from authors from 20 countries
IM
8 International Mining | JULY 2021