什么是尾矿坝? Mine tailings dams hold the water and waste byproducts (i.e., tailings) that result from mineral and metal extraction during the mining process. 虽然没有完整的库存存在, it is well established that there are over 12,全世界有000座尾矿坝. Billions of cubic metres of mining tailings comprised of sand, 淤泥, clay and in some cases hazardous chemicals are produced and processed annually and held by these dams.
近年来, several high-profile tailings dam collapses have highlighted the urgent need to address the safety of these unique structures. The 2015 and 2019 Samarco and Brumadinho tailings dam failures in Brazil, 例如, 有没有给这个彩宝网敲响警钟. These two tailings dam disasters alone resulted in a combined release of about 45 million cubic meters of mining waste and 290 fatalities.
While tailings dams have evolved in recent years, 它们仍然是需要设计的复杂结构, 构造, operate and maintain within an ever-changing mining 环境. By understanding the inherent risks of tailings dams and identifying root causes of collapse, the mining industry can implement effective solutions to reduce the frequency of dam failures while also protecting surrounding communities and the 环境.
为什么尾矿坝管理如此具有挑战性?
Estimates suggest that tailings dam collapses over the last 60 years have resulted in the unexpected release of over 200 million cubic meters of waste from storage facilities and over 2,300人死亡. Tailings dam breaches can lead to 环境al contamination, socio-economic consequences in surrounding communities, 业务中断, and stakeholder revenue and reputational losses. It becomes critical then to identify and understand the circumstances that lead these failures.
不像传统的水利大坝, which are typically built under one owner using a fixed design with one engineer and contractor, tailings dams may start their life as a starter dyke and evolve over time as mining 操作s expand. 经常, 这意味着气候的变化, 环境, 法规和制度需求, 在某些情况下是所有权.
Their unique long-life development invites many opportunities for human errors or omissions that impact the site investigation, 大坝设计与施工, 正在进行操作, 最终的结局. As stated in the 2015 “Report on Mount Polley Tailings Storage Facility Breach”, “[Tailings dams] are also unforgiving systems, in terms of the number of things that have to go right. Their reliability is contingent on consistently flawless execution，从概念到完成."
How is Industry Mitigating the Risk of Future Tailings Dam Collapses?
The global mining community along with other stakeholders around the world are accelerating long overdue action in efforts to reduce, 如果不是消除, 这些尾矿坝的失败. In addition to developing best available technologies (BATs) for physical and chemical stability, 大学, 政府, 矿业组织, and learned societies are improving upon and enforcing standards to reduce the impact of human errors and omissions moving “towards zero failure.”
The underlying principle for future tailings dam management involves a performance-based, 风险知情的安全构造, 操作, and closure approach that is centered on accountability. The 2020 全球 Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) presents the latest standard for tailings dam management consultants, 设计师, 主人, 运营商, 监管机构, and investors in the strive towards “zero harm to people and the 环境 with zero tolerance for human fatality.”
It is essential that all stakeholders in the mining industry understand the potential mechanisms and root causes of tailings dam collapses. 利用这些知识, redundancies and resiliencies can be built into tailings storage facilities ultimately reducing and eliminating catastrophic failures and subsequent harm.
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