Résumé - Abstract
January 25, 2019. A tailings facility near the city of Brumadindo, Brazil, failed. Within 5 minutes, almost 12 million cubic metres of tailings had been released. Over 250 people were killed. It was a tragic event. One that forever changed the lives of those impacted. It also changed the way that the public, regulators, investors, and insurers regard the risks posed by mine tailings, and how the mining industry manages those risks. The ways in which Brumadinho will change how tailings are managed are still unfolding. Within days, a group of institutional investors led by the Church of England Pensions Board issued a call to action. That was the catalyst for the launch of the Global Tailings Review and the August 2020 release of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. In parallel, the International Council on Mining and Metals undertook development of good practice guidance on tailings management, building upon the work of the Mining Association of Canada. Following the release of the Standard, ICMM developed a conformance protocol. Here in Canada, MAC has undertaken a review of its leading practice requirements and guidance for tailings management, with the goal of driving continual improvement. Because we must do better.
Biographie du présentateur - Biography of the presenter
Charles Dumaresq is Vice President, Science and Environmental Management with the Mining Association of Canada (MAC). He joined MAC in 2015, assuming a lead role on MAC’s work related to tailings management. He played a key role in reviewing and updating MAC’s world-leading guidance on tailings management. He was a member of the Advisory Group for the review that developed the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, released in August 2020, and provided support to the International Council on Mining and Metals development of a good practice guide for tailings management. Charles is also engaged on other regulatory and environmental aspects of mining, including effluent and water quality, and monitoring and mitigation of effects on the aquatic environment.
Prior to joining MAC, Charles spent 22 years with Environment Canada. He was a subject matter expert on mining, working on regulatory and policy development, reviewing environmental assessments, and leading the development of best practice guidance for metal mining.
A geologist by training, he has an M.Sc. in Earth Sciences. He conducted graduate research examining tailings geochemistry and water quality impacts associated with early 20th century silver mines around Cobalt, Ontario.
Language
English
