Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management

The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (herein ‘the Standard’) strives to achieve the ultimate goal of zero harm to people and the environment with zero tolerance for human fatality. It requires Operators to take responsibility and prioritise the safety of tailings facilities, through all phases of a facility’s lifecycle, including closure and post-closure. It also requires the disclosure of relevant information to support public accountability. Issues have arisen in the development of the Standard that are difficult to translate into an auditable industry Standard for Operators. These issues are more appropriately addressed through national and/or state level regulatory authorities, or through multilateral agencies working with the industry. For example, it is recognised that more work needs to be done by national and/ or state level regulators to develop mechanisms that enable the identifi cation, maintenance and/or restoration of abandoned or ‘orphaned’ facilities.