As many as one-third of the current global portfolio of tailings storage facilities (TSFs) are impaired and in need of urgent intervention, according to the Switzerland-based Responsible Mining Foundation (RMF).
This means that more than 730 million tonnes of tailings pose a risk, from among the roughly 223 billion tonnes of tailings stored in more than 30,000 TSFs, including active, inactive and abandoned facilities."The costs of de-risking or removing all TSFs that pose a high threat of harm in the event of failure are enormous - in the region of $670 billion," the independent research organization said. "Clearly, urgent action at scale is needed to address the thousands of highest-risk TSFs that currently threaten the lives...