Abstract
Tailings are present at active and abandoned mines across Canada, though information on them is often limited. Some of these sites may be reclaimed naturally over time, while some require active intervention and long-term monitoring. Abandoned and historical tailings may be a source of acid mine drainage or pose other environmental and human health risks; however, tailings may also be host to critical minerals as well as other by-products resulting from tailings valorization. Inventorying tailings in Canada will help to better understand and explore ways to mitigate legacy risk at sites, and to help characterize the potential which may still lie in Canadian tailings. Although previous efforts have been made to map these sites nationally and within provincial and territorial jurisdictions, there is not yet a comprehensive national database of active and abandoned tailings sites. Furthermore, sources compiled in the past may require updating. A single, amalgamated data set would allow stakeholders access to publicly available tailings data from across the country.
CanmetMINING’s Mine Tailings Inventory is a proof-of-concept database initiative which comprises public information from various existing data portals as well as public disclosure reports from active mines. Currently, over 7500 georeferenced sites are included in the database. CanmetMINING is inviting industry partners and subject matter experts to submit data and feedback on the Mine Tailings Inventory database.