In light of the global challenges faced around mine waste, particularly tailings, the Global Minerals Professionals Alliance (GMPA) will be undertaking ‘Global Action on Tailings’. The initiative was announced at a recent meeting of the GMPA – a collaborative partnership between leading professional organizations for minerals around the world – held in February 2019, in Denver, Colorado in conjunction with the 2019 SME Annual Conference & Expo.
In addition to examining tailings from the perspective of disposal and closure, the initiative will seek to advance discussions and solutions relating to tailings management, tailings reprocessing/repurposing, and ultimately moving towards tailings elimination.
The approach will be multi-pronged, involving data collection and the dissemination of existing best practices, case studies, and research though the Global Action on Tailings Resource Centre.
Tailings teams have been established by each of the participating GMPA organizations and experts on all aspects of tailings management and processing will be engaged in addressing this issue.