One in ten tailings dams experience ‘stability issues’, report finds

At least ten per cent of mining waste dams have had “stability issues” during their lifetime, according to an investor group, raising concerns about their safety following a collapse in Brazil that killed 251 people in January.

A total of 166 tailings dams around the world have reported issues, according to a survey by the Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative, a group including the Church of England that has over $13.5tn in assets.

The data form part of an effort led by investors to create the first global database of tailings dams, which is set to launch in January. The initiative was launched after 12m cubic metres of mining waste burst from a storage dam near the town of Brumadinho in south-east Brazil.

The Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative said the stability issues it found had all been addressed but it still raised concerns about future failures.

“This underscores why investors, banks and insurers will be continuing to work together on this issue until such time we have confidence in a new global standard being implemented and that the highest risk dams have been identified and operate to this standard or are removed,” Adam Matthews, director of ethics for the Church of England Pensions Board, said.

Mine tailings are produced when mined rock is finely ground and mixed with water (and sometimes chemicals) to separate minerals and valuable metals.

Of the 726 mining companies contacted by the initiative for data on their tailings facilities, only 308 responded, the Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative said. This included 37 out of the top 50 largest mining companies in the world, it said.

The initiative is led by the Church of England and the Swedish National Pension Fund.

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