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Action to make mine waste dams safer Getting a report out on an urgent environmental problem is not always easy. When you work with partners, as GRID-Arendal does with all its projects, it’s important to take time to ensure that all views are considered and concerns addressed. There is a lot of give and take, and occasionally heated discussions.

This was the case with a 2017 report called Mining Tailings Storage: Safety is no accident, released by UN Environment and GRID-Arendal. It was prompted by tailings dam disasters and rising global concerns about the safety of storing and managing increasing volumes of mine waste or tailings. The report was the subject of vigorous debate during its development with some industry representatives pushing back hard on recommendations that could cost mining companies money if implemented. But the bottom line was always human health and safety and a need to properly manage the thousands upon thousands of waste sites around the world. It is a huge challenge. The European Commission Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is looking to have mine tailings included in Horizon 2020 funding programme. An NGO called Project on Organising, Development, Education, and Research (PODER) cited the report in a message to the shareholders of the Southern Copper Corporation concerning a lawsuit about a spill of toxic substances from a mine owned by one of its Mexican subsidiaries. The letter was posted on the StreetInsider.com web site which has a reach of 224,000 potential readers. IMPACT

Last year this somewhat painful consultative process began to pay off with increasing recognition that the issues highlighted were serious enough to warrant more detailed consideration and action. That action has taken off on a number of fronts – the first UN stakeholder forum to discuss mine safety took place in Vancouver, Canada, inDecember. The forumdeveloped a vision for improved mine waste management and this will be taken to a larger group of stakeholders in 2019. The report findings are continuing to be referenced to support increased stakeholder involvement in mining decisions, improve safety and develop innovation in the industry. It was also mentioned at the European Union Raw Materials Week in November and the European Commission will examine its recommendations for follow up.

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