The following information is for owners of declared tailings dams. It compares the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) framework with NSW dams safety legislative requirements.
Tailings dams are structures built to contain materials from mining, most commonly fine-grained or finely ground materials leftover from the extraction processes. Most of these processes are water based, and consequently tailings are usually produced, transported and discharged into a dam as a slurry.
What is the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management?
In August 2020, in response to the tragic collapse of a tailings facility at Brumadinho, Brazil in 2019, the Global Tailings Review published an international standard for the safer management of tailings storage facilities (commonly called ‘tailings dams’ by Dams Safety NSW).
The Global Tailings Review was co-convened by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
The Standard can be found at: https://globaltailingsreview.org/global-industry-standard/
Is it compulsory for owners of NSW declared tailings dams to adopt the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management?
No, it is not. However, Dams Safety NSW requires all owners of declared tailings dams to comply with the NSW Dams Safety Act 2015 and the NSW Dams Safety Regulation 2019. Dam owners may also choose to comply with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management.
The Standard provides a framework for safe tailings facility management while giving operators flexibility as to how best to achieve this goal.
In its preamble, the Standard states:
‘Conformance with the Standard does not displace the requirements of any specific national, state or local governmental statutes, laws, regulations, ordinances, or other government directives. Operators are expected to conform with the Requirements of the Standard not in conflict with other provisions of law.’
Table: GISTM versus NSW dams safety legislative requirements
Cl = Clause of Dams Safety Regulation 2019
ISO 55001 and ISO 9001 are requirements of clauses 13 and 23 of the Dams Safety Regulation 2019
GISTM – Principles and requirements | NSW dams safety legislative requirements |
|---|---|
| PRINCIPLE 1: Respect the rights of project-affected people and meaningfully engage them at all phases of the tailings facility lifecycle, including closure. | ISO 55001 – 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties |
| PRINCIPLE 2: Develop and maintain an interdisciplinary knowledge base to support safe tailings management throughout the tailings facility lifecycle, including closure. | ISO 55001 – 7.6 Documented information Cl.9 – Operations and maintenance plans Cl.14 – Risk management framework ISO 9001 – 8.3 - Design outputs (eg. specify and document dam characteristics) Cl.20 – Safety review |
| PRINCIPLE 3: Use all elements of the knowledge base - social, environmental, local economic and technical - to inform decisions throughout the tailings facility lifecycle, including closure. | Cl.14 – Risk management framework (eg. Risk informed decision making) ISO 55001 – 6.2.2 Planning to achieve asset management objectives |
| PRINCIPLE 4: Develop plans and design criteria for the tailings facility to minimise risk for all phases of its lifecycle, including closure and post closure. | Cl.9 – O&M plans ISO 9001 – 8.3 Design and development (Planning, Inputs, Controls, Outputs and Changes) Cl.15 – requirement to produce a written report on all foreseeable risks to the dam at the time that the dam is being designed |
| PRINCIPLE 5: Develop a robust design that integrates the knowledge base and minimises the risk of failure to people and the environment for all phases of the tailings facility lifecycle, including closure and post-closure. | Cl.15 – requirement to produce a written report on all foreseeable risks to the dam at the time that the dam is being designed ISO 9001 – 8.3 Design and development (Planning, Inputs, Controls, Outputs and Changes) Cl.14 - Risk management framework ISO 9001 – 6.1 Actions to address risks and opportunities |
| PRINCIPLE 6: Plan, build and operate the tailings facility to manage risk at all phases of the tailings facility lifecycle, including closure and post-closure. | ISO 9001 – 8.3 Design and development (Planning, Inputs, Controls, Outputs and Changes) Cl.9 – O&M plans Cl.14 - Risk management framework ISO 9001 – 6.1 Actions to address risks and opportunities |
| PRINCIPLE 7: Design, implement and operate monitoring systems to manage risk at all phases of the facility lifecycle, including closure. | Cl.9 – O&M plans Cl.14 - Risk management framework ISO 55001 – 9.1 Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation |
| PRINCIPLE 8: Establish policies, systems and accountabilities to support the safety and integrity of the tailings facility. | ISO 55001 – 5.1 Leadership and Commitment ISO 55001 - 5.2 – Policy ISO 55001 - 5.3 - Organisational roles, responsibilities, and authorities |
| PRINCIPLE 9: Appoint and empower an Engineer of Record. | ISO 9001 – 8.3 Design and development ISO 55001 – 5.3 Organisational roles, responsibilities and authorities ISO 55001 – 7.5 Information requirements ISO 55001 – 7.6 Documented information |
| PRINCIPLE 10: Establish and implement levels of review as part of a strong quality and risk management system for all phases of the tailings facility lifecycle, including closure. | Cl.6 - Classification of dams by consequence category Cl.20 – Safety review Cl.24 – Design check ISO 55001 – 9.2 Internal audit ISO 9001 – 9.3 Management review ISO 55001 – 9.3 Management review |
| PRINCIPLE 11: Develop an organisational culture that promotes learning, communication and early problem recognition. | ISO 9001 and 55001 – Competence requirements ISO 9001 and 55001 – Leadership and commitment ISO 9001 and 55001 – Continual improvement Cl.19 – Incident reporting |
| PRINCIPLE 12: Establish a process for reporting and addressing concerns and implement whistle-blower protections. | None |
| PRINCIPLE 13: Prepare for emergency response to tailings facility failures. | Cl. 10 - Emergency plans |
| PRINCIPLE 14: Prepare for long term recovery in the event of catastrophic failure. | None |
| PRINCIPLE 15: Publicly disclose and provide access to information about the tailings facility to support public accountability. | Section 14 – Dams Safety Standards (annual report) Cl.26 – Dams safety standards report |
| Consequence categories | DSNSW methodology on Consequence category assessment |
| Design criteria | ISO 9001 – 8.3 Design and development |
| Safety review | Cl.20 Safety review Cl.15 Assessment of societal and individual risk rating |