'Industrial disasters, disclosure deficits: Can transparency level the playing field?' project

CSRM is one of five partners awarded funding under the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Linkage scheme with additional support from industry.

This $1.65 million research project runs for 3 years and is a collaboration between Anglo American, Newcrest, the University of British Columbia in Canada, the University of the Free State in South Africa, and CSRM.

The project has arisen from the historically low levels of information disclosure about tailings facilities and it aims to drive transformational change in the public disclosure requirements of mine tailings information – supporting new requirements for greater tailings transparency and identifying best practice for other parts of the industry to emulate.

The project addresses 2 important knowledge gaps in the policy and research literature.

• the gap in knowledge about the context in which large-scale tailings facilities are situated
• the extent to which transparency initiatives function to maintain ‘business as usual’, or instead support public accountability of mining, and transformative change

The project provides an opportunity for a world-leading team of social scientists and geotechnical specialists to collaborate and innovate – potentially influencing mining and energy markets globally.