Brazilian Resolutions, Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, Trends for Tailings Management in Sustainable Mining

Abstract

Population growth coupled with the need to expand and accelerate the rate of ore production has led to a situation in which huge tailings dams are located close to urban concentrations and important natural goods for people. The consequences of accidents that occurred in this context are unacceptable and regulations quickly were created in several countries, as well as international standards for the sector. Therefore, looking toward the risk elimination or reduction at the lowest possible level, improvement in the management, operational routine and organizational culture are society and investor expectations. The paper highlights the Brazilian legislation and the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) requirements, their common points, their specificities, and the trends in tailings management for the sector. The legislation and the GISTM cover several aspects of tailings management that are interpreted, contextualized, and analysed, such as the relationship with communities, development of social, environmental, and economic knowledge about the potentially affected areas, risk and consequence assessments, emergency preparedness and response plans, governance, accountability, and transparency. The present paper also analyses the evolution of dam resolutions published by the National Mining Agency (NMA) of Brazil in relation to actions aimed at the protection of people and the environment. Considering the legislation requirements and the ones established by GISTM, will be shown how the largest companies working in Brazil are acting.