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The Global Tailings Management Institute is tasked with making mine waste facilities safer through its Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. It is critical that the GTMI and its audit protocols establish strong, comprehensive metrics that protect communities, ecosystems and the rights of Indigenous Peoples from the risks posed by poorly managed tailings.
Open letter from civil society groups
We, the undersigned Indigenous, human rights, corporate accountability, and environmental organizations, express our concerns regarding the lack of transparent progress of the Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) and underscore the need for strong, independent oversight from the Institute.
The GTMI’s mandate is to develop and implement an assurance framework that allows for independent audits and certification of tailings facilities against the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). The Institute has been working since April to develop audit protocols for the GISTM.
The GTMI was scheduled to lead a workshop on November 8th called “GTMI: Current Status and Stakeholder Feedback” at the upcoming Tailings and Mine Waste Conference in Denver Colorado. However, the workshop was cancelled abruptly on November 2nd without explanation.
It is critical that the GTMI and its audit protocols establish strong, comprehensive metrics that protect communities, ecosystems and the rights of Indigenous Peoples from the risks posed by poorly managed tailings. We have seen over and over again that the mining industry is not able or willing to regulate itself. The credibility of the GTMI hinges on its ability to demonstrate its independence from the mining industry. It is in the best interest of all stakeholders to have a credible institute with the resources, capacity, and independence to carry out robust audits.
To ensure that all stakeholders are able to engage in the process moving forward, the undersigned organizations respectfully request the GTMI provide public updates on the status of the development of the audit protocols, including why upcoming public consultations were cancelled, and a timeline for future public consultations and milestones in the process. We also call on the GTMI to demonstrate and codify its role as an independent institute.
Signed,
Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA)
Batani Foundation
Center for Transnational Environmental Accountability (CTEA)
Civil Society Tailings Working Group of South Africa
Cultural Survival
Foundation Atelier for Community Transformation – ACT (BiH)
Earthworks
London Mining Network
MiningWatch Canada
Mining Standards Accountability Alliance (MSAA)
Public Citizen
Rainforest Foundation Norway
Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Green Economy Coalition (SIRGE)
Oxfam
