Towards Zero Harm

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TOWARDS ZERO HARM – A COMPENDIUM OF PAPERS PREPARED FOR THE GLOBAL TAILINGS REVIEW

TOWARDS ZERO HARM – A COMPENDIUM OF PAPERS PREPARED FOR THE GLOBAL TAILINGS REVIEW

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• The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) Towards Sustainable Mining® (TSM®) was introduced in 2004 and is being implemented at over 60 facilities. TSM has also been adopted by industry associations in several other countries. Requirements relevant to the Standard are described in: - Tailings Management Protocol (2004, revised 2017 & 2019). - Indigenous and Community Relationships Protocol (2004, revised 2019). - Water Stewardship Protocol (2019). • The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) Standard for Responsible Mining was launched in 2018 and is currently being implemented at two mines. Requirements relevant to the Standard are described in:

the like should actively promote the acceptance of the Standard within their respective spheres of influence. • This support can be further enhanced by supranational organisations such as the UN and the World Bank, along with global initiatives such as the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI).

INVESTOR MINING AND TAILINGS SAFETY INITIATIVE S. Barrie, E. Baker, J. Howchin, A. Matthews

• A coalition of 112 international investors with over USD $14 trillion in assets under management was established in 2019 to improve understanding and transparency related to the social and financial risk associated with tailings dams. • Investors are increasingly scrutinising company performance on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. Tailings storage facilities have implications for all three ‘ESG’ pillars. • Investors have taken the view that tailings represent a systemic challenge for the mining sector and for other sectors linked to mining through the supply chain • The Investor Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative has made a number of interventions, including calling for a Global Tailing Standard, asking for improved disclosure from 727 extractive companies, and collating and organising those disclosures in an accessible database: The Global Tailings Portal. • The response to the disclosure request has been positive. As of March 2020, 152 companies have confirmed that they have tailings storage facilities (this includes both operator and joint venture interests). The 152 companies represent approximately 83% of the publicly listed mining industry by market capitalisation, and includes 45 of the 50 largest companies. • The Initiative continues to work for safer, and more well understood tailings facilities. It is pursuing projects on insurance and disclosure, tailings monitoring, and the removal of the most dangerous dams.

- Environmental Responsibility Requirements - Chapter 4.1: Waste and Materials Management - Chapter 4.2: Water Management - Business Integrity Requirements (3 relevant chapters). - Planning for Positive Legacies Requirements (6 relevant chapters). - Social Responsibility Requirements (3 relevant chapters).

• There are no existing standards for technical design, which is a topic addressed in the Standard. However, guidance from organisations such as the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) is frequently incorporated into legal requirements (e.g. site-specific permits for tailings dams).

INSURABILITY OF TAILINGS RELATED RISK G. Becker

• Tailings facilities are integral to almost any mining activity. While the facilities themselves represent minor economic value compared to the remainder of the operation, their leakage or rupture can have considerable consequences for people, ecosystems and property. • Even if the highest available standards for the safe construction, maintenance and operation of tailings facilities are strictly adhered to, it will never be possible to have full control over forces of nature such as extreme weather events or earthquakes; nor can human error be ruled out. • The insurance industry stands ready to meet its role in alleviating the potentially catastrophic effects of a tailings facility failure on innocent third parties and the mining operators themselves. An indispensable prerequisite, however, is that the insured party undertakes whatever is humanly possible to prevent such an incident from occurring. • What these precautions should include, in terms of technical to organisational measures, has been defined in the Standard. Adherence to the Standard must be seen as a premise for any insurance cover. • Consideration should be given to organising insurance cover in the form of a pool, with a view to creating sufficient capacity to cover the risks of tailings facility failures. • As the mining sector is a global industry, the Standard should likewise be applied globally. National governments, regulatory bodies, insurance associations and