A survey of tailing professionals in the global mining industry has found that most have limited experience with information disclosure or community engagement.
The survey undertaken by the Sustainable Minerals Institute’s (SMI) Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM), was published as a research paper in the Mining Engineering journal.
It questioned 183 tailings professionals from around the world on their views, perspectives, and experiences of sharing tailings-related information with local communities.
CSRM Director and paper lead author Professor Deanna Kemp said the survey’s responses reveal capability gaps in the industry but reinforces that they can be addressed by addressing systemic barriers and targeted training.
“The mining industry is facing pressure from investors, governments and civil society to increase public disclosure around the safety of tailings facilities, especially in the wake of failures such as at Brumadinho,” Professor Kemp said.
“Our survey raises questions around whether this pressure is being felt at an operational level, with less than half of the respondents being involved in plans or procedures to disclose information to local communities.
“Approximately half of the respondents also indicated that mining companies disclose either nothing or the minimum required to comply.
“The survey suggests that respondents view disclosing information after a failure as more important than disclosing information to avoid such events, suggesting building early knowledge of potential consequences is not yet being prioritized.
“However, despite their limited experience, most survey participants also expressed comfort with the requirements outlined by the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).
“This attitude towards the GISTM suggests there is real potential to address the capability gap around disclosure and local engagement through professional development and capability building.”
Industry supports project to improve transparency and accountability
The survey was conducted as part of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage project Industrial disasters, disclosure deficit: Can transparency level the field?, which is supported by Anglo American, Newmont and Rio Tinto.
The project has so far generated numerous outputs, including a socio-historical account of the paper offers a socio-historical account of the Jagersfontein tailings disaster, research into displacement and resettlement caused by waste, multi-lingual learning materials about the social performance aspects of the GISTM, and multiple literature reviews.
“Through the project we aim to identify innovative process around transparency and public accountability in the energy transition minerals space,” Professor Kemp said.
