ABOUT THE TWG
The SAIMM has established a Tailings Storage Facilities Working Group in response to recent global tailings facility failures and increasing focus on Tailings Storage Facilities Management within the increasing focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters by investors, NGOs, Governments and other interested stakeholders.
Following failures at the Mount Polley dam in Canada in August 2014, the Mariana dam failure at the Samarco mine in November 2015 and the collapse of the tailings dam at the Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine in the town of Brumadinho in January 2019, mining companies worldwide conducted reviews and audits of their facilities, and posted these on their websites.
The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), of which most major mining companies are members, initiated a global project to develop a Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management which was published in August 2020, and which is linked to this website.
At approximately the same time, the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) initiated a project to develop a set of guidelines for tailings storage facilities. This is soon to be released.
Against this background, the Global Mining Professionals Alliance, of which SAIMM is a member, initiated a Global Action on Tailings group, in which the SAIMM participates.
The GMPA GAT group is an international Taskforce of experts representing each GMPA association working together to build awareness and knowledge of tailings management through information on design, operation, risk management and improvement opportunities, and education and professional development activities to enhance competencies in tailings management.
In addition, each GMPA organization has established specialist tailings committees providing guidance on conferences, online technical education, publications, as well as strategic input into industry reviews and consultations.
The SAIMM Tailings Group is such a group, which has terms of reference as attached to the webpage.
The current focus of the group is on the following.
- Establishing a competency and qualifications working group to define professional roles, and the requirements in terms of qualifications, capabilities and registration
- Defining professional ethics and behaviour in TSF management
- Engaging with ICMM and ICOLD and translating standards and guidelines into local requirements and investigating whether a Southern African Code within SAMCODES is necessary, or if the update of SANS 10286 is sufficient
- Engaging with DMRE
- Liaising with research organisations to ensure collaboration and support
- Researching best practice from audits
- Engage with SAICE on update of SANS 10286
- Participating in the development and publication of SME book, representing the interests of Southern Africa
- Organising a regional tailings event.
The SAIMM working group is working closely with the South African Institute of Civil Engineers, specifically the SAICE Geotechnical division.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Tailings storage facilities task group
Terms of Reference
1. Background
Since the failures of tailings facilities in South America in particular, an unprecedented amount of activity has occurred globally, with many different groups being formed to fulfill mandates defined by their principles.
These groupings include:
- The Church of England and Swedish Pension Fund Groups who requested a global review on tailings facility safety and environmental impact, through a self audit process conducted buy mining companies;
- A response by the ICMM to produce appropriate standards and guidelines for TSF design and management, centered on risk assessment and design and management competency and control;
- The establishment of a project within the Global Mining Professionals Alliance (GMPA) that focusses on risk management systems, competency and monitoring and communications to potentially affected communities. The GMPA (of which SAIMM is a member) has requested that member organisations establish a local task team, and to have a representative reporting in on local activities, to the quarterly GMPA meetings. It has also requested the nomination of technical experts to serve on adhoc GMPA committees or task groups;
- The establishment of a Global Research Consortium on Tailings, made up largely of academic members and organisations, to investigate competency requirements and requisite qualifications;
- The establishment of a group and framework to develop guidelines by ICOLD for use by industry and regulators.
Locally, the Minerals Council South Africa has coordinated inputs into the ICMM group, and the SAICE has which is considerably out of date.
This all creates a picture of much activity, and the risk exists of duplication of effort, the development of conflicting outcomes, and the possibility of creating odious and unworkable global standards.
2. Duties of the SAIMM Task Group
- Report on activities relating to TSFs in Southern Africa to the GMPA;
- Keep a watching brief and coordinate activities in Southern Africa, where possible;
- Provide inputs and comments on global and local activities and documents;
- Liaise with academic institutions on the development of competency and qualifications;
- Arrange, through SAIMM, conferences and schools to disseminate new knowledge and standards, guidelines;
- Provide local technical input to global committees and task groups, to represent Southern African interests;
- Report back to other working groups in Southern Africa, on GMPA initiatives;
- On the assumption that a process similar to that related to Mineral Resource and Reserve reporting is required, provide input to a high level, principle based global framework, and develop structures for the development of local codes, standards and guidelines for the Southern African environment. This may involve establishing and guiding various sub-groups.
3. Constitution
The Task Group will be made up of industry experts, drawn from academia, industry, consultants and the regulator. There will be no fixed term of membership or limit on numbers, and new members may be seconded through the suggestion of members.
The group will meet on a quarterly basis, prior to the GMPA meetings.
Adhoc meetings may be called where necessary.
ABOUT THE Tailings Conference
Global Tailings Standards and Opportunities for the Mine of the Future
Tailings storage facilities have been a feature of mining operations around the globe since mining began. They are the depositories of waste or gangue material from mining operations and mineral processing plants, or the storage facilities for pollution control. In some cases, they may still contain low grade minerals, high grade fines that are not economically viable to treat. They may also contain reagents and other radioactive or potentially harmful minerals and chemicals, that could damage ecosystems in the event of their escape. Tailings facilities are each in a way unique, either in terms of location, terrain, design and construction. Furthermore, in terms of design and construction, debate occurs globally on the merits and demerits of upstream and downstream facilities, and wet or dry facilities.
SEE MORE ABOUT THE CONFERENCE HERE ...
Biographies
Adelle Coetzee
Current position:
Implats: Executive: Metallurgy
Qualifications:
B.Eng (metallurgy) at University of Potchefstroom (qualified 1996)
Global Executive Development program at Gordon Institute of Business science (2011).
Professional Engineer registered at ECSA
Work experience:
Joined Impala Platinum in 1997 as metallurgist.
Worked since then in various positions and operations as Processing manager.
Appointed in 2008 as Group Production manager : Concentrating.
Responsible for tailings storage facility management throughout career.
Dr Graham Howell
(PrEng, BSc Eng, MSc Eng, PhD Eng, FSAICE, FSAAE, MSANIRE)
Dr Howell is the past Chairman of SRK South Africa. Professionally, he is a Corporate Consultant and Principal Structural/Geotechnical Engineer with SRK Consulting with more than 40 years experience in the civil, geotechnical, environmental and risk engineering fields. He has worked in the consulting and construction fields during his career for Provincial Government, SRK Consulting and Synexus Pty Ltd (own company). He is a registered professional engineer with ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa) and is a Fellow of SAICE (South African Institution of Civil Engineers), a Fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE) and SANIRE (South African National Institute of Rock Engineers).
Dr Howell has extensive experience in the design aspects of engineering, including the use of numerical methods and qualitative (probabilistic) risk methodologies (QRA) for the assessment and solution of engineering problems. His experience covers both mining and civil engineering project including shafts, tunnels, mining surface structures, underground structures, rock and soil slope stability, pipelines, civil structures and tailings facilities amongst others.
Dr Howell has been an external examiner for civil engineering at under- and post- graduate levels at the Universities of Cape Town, Witwatersrand and Johannesburg. His speciality lies in soil and rock/structure interaction and his research interests include the use and application of probabilistic methods (including QRA) in engineering.
Alastair Stuart Macfarlane
Company: Mandela Mining Precinct
Designation: Director
Qualifications: MSc (Eng), FSAIMM, ACSM
- Mine Manager and Consultant Mineral Resource Management, AngloGold.
- Senior Lecturer at Wits University, lecturing in Mine Financial valuation, Mining Methods, Mineral resource management
- Owner and Director Macsim Mining Consultancy, consulting to most mining companies in South Africa, as well as consulting in Zambia, Tanzania, DRC and Australia
- Founder Member and technical Director of Sebilo Resources (Pty)Ltd, an operational BBBEE mining company, operating in the N Cape
- Independent Non Executive director Implats
Dr Kym L Morton
PhD (Imperial) MBA (Imperial) C Geol FGS FSAIMM Pr Sci Nat DIC
Dr Kym L Morton has a BSc Honours from Kings College, an MSc in Hydrogeology from University College, London, a PhD in Mining Hydrology from Imperial College and an MBA in Innovation and entrepreneurship also from Imperial College. She is based in Johannesburg and London and is a UK chartered Geologist and Fellow of the SAIMM and UK Geological society. In South Africa she is registered as a Pr Sci Nat. Her career in mining hydrology spans 39 years and she has worked on over 300 mines worldwide. In 1989 she founded KLM Consulting Services ( KLMCS) to provide innovative and practical solutions to mine water issues, specialising in Mine dewatering design and tailings monitoring for risk reduction. Kym has published over 35 papers on accurate mine water control and she is passionate about empowering management to make the right decisions on time and within budgets.
John Wates
BSc (Eng), MSc (Eng), MBA, Pr. Eng.
John Wates is currently non executive Chairman of Fraser Alexander, a mining services company and provides independent consulting services through John Wates Consulting. He has had over 40 years of experience in design and construction management of mine tailings storage facilities, water dams and industrial and domestic waste disposal sites. John serves or has served on in excess of 20 independent tailings and water dam review boards and has been appointed as the Approved Professional Person (APP) for in excess of 50 water and tailings dams up to Category III in South Africa.
