Por: José N. De Piérola C., asesor y consultor sénior en Gestión de Recursos Hídricos, Profesor Honorario de la Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina y presidente de la Asociación Peruana de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental.

Abstract

The new scenario that has emerged since 2019 as a result of the terrible tailings dam failure in Córrego do Feijão, Brumadinho (Brazil) has led to a series of measures aimed at improving the level of safety and sustainability with which tailings production, control, and storage systems are currently managed.

According to the National Water Authority (ANA, 2015), there are 743 dams registered in the country's dam inventory, of which 442 are used for irrigation and 113 are tailings dams. A tailings dam is defined as a structure, usually earth-built, intended for the storage of solid-liquid waste known as tailings, which are the byproduct of a mining operation (CDA, 2014). 

The GISTM standards published in August 2020 as a result of the joint work of the ICMM, UNEP, and the UN, and the founding in January 2023 of the Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI), which has been working since this year on the implementation of the standards, demonstrate the mining industry's commitment to achieving levels that ensure safe and socio-environmentally viable operations globally. 

The standards are organized into six topics, 15 principles, and 77 auditable requirements, which address engineering issues in Topic III, focused on reviewing the performance of design, construction, operation, maintenance, monitoring, and closure aspects; Topic IV, focused on TSF system management and governance, as well as facility control.