The Minerals Council South Africa welcomes the publication of the new Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management.
The development of the Standard was prompted by the Brumadinho Tailing Dam disaster in Brazil in January 2019. It was developed by the Global Tailings Review (GTR) which was convened soon thereafter jointly by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM).
The Minerals Council and a number of its members are members of the ICMM, and engaged actively with the GTR during its consultations.
Compliance with the Standard is to become mandatory for ICMM members. However, the Minerals Council further calls on all its members to study the Standard and to work towards ensuring that their tailings management systems are in line with those contained in the Standard.
The Standard deals with and integrates social, environmental, local economic and technical considerations in tailings management. It unambiguously places accountability for tailings management at the most senior levels of company structures, and also sets terms for independent oversight.
A copy of the new Standard can be downloaded here: 
