- View Executive Summary as a stand-alone pdf
- Summary Table of Guidelines | Indonesian | Español | Português | Français
- Chart of Changes made for V2.0 revision | Indonesian | Español | Português
- List of 158 NGOs, technical experts, and Tribal nations endorsing Safety First
- Indonesian – Safety First: Panduan Pengelolaan Tailing Tambang yang Bertanggungjawab
- Español – La seguridad ante todo: Lineamientos para el manejo responsable de relaves
- Português – A segurança em Primeiro Lugar: Diretrizes para Gestão Respónsavel de Rejeitos de Mineração
- Français – La sécurité avant tout: Lignes directrices pour une gestion responsable des résidus miniere
- Supplemental Materials: Summary Sheet | Timeline of the Guidelines | Summary (Español) | Timeline (Español)
From the Executive Summary
The 2019 mine tailings dam collapse near Brumadinho, Brazil, killed over 250 people and decimated houses and buildings for kilometers before flowing into the Paraopeba River. The catastrophe stunned the world, but should not have come as a surprise.
Tailings facilities, which contain the processed waste materials generated from mining metals and minerals, are failing with increasing frequency and severity.
Current industry standards, the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management released in 2020, do not go far enough to adequately protect communities and ecosystems from failures. The design, construction, operation and closure of tailings facilities require significant changes to protect people and the environment.
The safest tailings facility is the one that is not built.
To avoid the long-term liability of mine waste sites and their social and environmental impacts, we must reduce the volume of tailings produced, as well as the overall demand for primary raw minerals.
Over the past 40 years, ore grades have declined on average by half for many minerals, effectively doubling the volume of mine waste tailings generated for each unit of mineral produced. Current trends suggest an additional 2- to 10-fold increase in the extraction and uses of most minerals by 2060. These trends are not sustainable. We need to continue to mine at least some minerals, including to support energy transition technologies, but we need best standards and practices to do so.
If your organization would like to join us in working to protect communities from dangerous mining practices, you can sign on here.
For More Information
- Fighting Mining Injustice (main Earthworks campaign page)
- Tailings and Disposal
- Communities at Risk
- The Global Industry Standard On Tailings Management vs Safety First Guidelines (pdf)
Endorsers of Safety First
- A Community Voice – Louisiana – United States
- A2 Rosewood Strong Community – United States
- Action for Ecology & People Emancipation (AEER) – Indonesia
- ACWA / Earth Island Institute – United States
- African Resources Watch (Afrewatch) – Regional-Africa
- AfrosRD – Dominican Republic
- AGHAM-Advocates of Science and Technology for the People – Philippines
- AIDA – Latin America
- Alianza Centro Americana Frente a la Minería (ACAFREMIN) – Central America
- Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) – Phillippines
- Amazon Watch – United States
- Amnesty International – United Kingdom
- Andrew Lees Trust – United Kingdom
- Arizona Mining Reform Coalition – United States
- Arkansas Valley Conservation Coalition (AVCC) – United States
- Armenian Environmental Front – Armenia
- Assembly of Masses and Basic Sectors for Unity and Harmony-Initiatives for Normalization and Advancement for Human Security (AMBUH-INAH) – Philippines
- B.C.E.N., C.E.N. Mining caucus and toxics caucus – Canada
- Bank Information Center – United States
- BAYAY SIBUYANON INC. – Philippines
- BC Mining Law Reform Network – Canada
- Bench Marks Foundation – South Africa
- Bismarck Ramu Group – Papua New Guinea
- Canadian Environmental Law Association – Canada
- CATAPA – Belgium
- Concerned Citizens of Quesnel Lake – Canada
- Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines Inc. – Philippines
- Center for Global Nonkilling – United States
- Center for Science in Public Participacion – United States
- Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of Witwatersrand – South Africa
- Centro de Reflexión y Acción Social Padre Juan Montalvo – Dominican Republic
- Centro de Saberes para a Sustentabilidade – Spain
- Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc. – United States
- Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz – Colombia
- Comité citoyen de protection de l’esker – Canada
- Comité por los derechos humanos en America Latina – Canada
- Communities Against Mining (CAM) – Ireland
- Concerned Citizens of Charles City County – United States
- Corporación Geoambiental Terrae – Colombia
- Conselva, Costas y Comunidades A.C. – Mexico
- Conservation Colorado – United States
- Conservation NW – United States
- CooperAcción – Peru
- Campbell River Environmental Committee (CREC) – Canada
- Cultural Survival – International
- David Suzuki Foundation – Canada
- DECOIN – Ecuador
- Denver Justice and Peace Committee (DJPC) – United States
- E-Tech International Inc – United States
- “EcoLur” Informational NGO – Armenia
- Earthjustice – United States
- Earthworks – United States
- Eau Secours – Canada
- Ecologistas en Acción – Spain
- Environmental Defender Law Center – United States
- European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) – Germany
- European Environmental Bureau – Belgium
- Fair Mining Collaborative – Canada
- Federation for a Sustainable Environment – South Africa
- Fondation Rivières / Rivers Foundation – Canada
- Freshwater Future – United States
- Friends of Buckingham – United States
- Friends of the Earth Canada – Canada
- Friends of the Earth Norway – Norway
- Fundação Montescola – Spain
- Global Justice Clinic (Does not represent NYU School Of Law – United States
- Goa Foundation – India
- Goenchi Mati Movement – India
- Great Basin Resource Watch – United States
- Greencastle community voices – Ireland
- GRUFIDES – Peru
- Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisas Socioambientais da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (GEPSA/UFOP) – Brazil
- Grupo de Pesquisa e Extensão Política, Economia, Mineração, Ambiente e Sociedade (PoEMAS) – Brazil
- Homa – Centro de Direitos Humanos e Empresas – Brazil
- Inclusive Development International – United States
- IndustriALL Global Union – Switzerland
- Information Network for Responsible Mining – United States
- IRPAD/Afrique – Mali
- Instituto Socioambiental – Brazil
- Justiça nos Trilhos – Brazil
- Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA) – Canada
- Kamloops Moms for Clean Air – Canada
- London Mining Network – United Kingdom
- Lynn Canal Conservation – United States
- Malach Consulting – United States
- Mesa Nacional Frente a la Minería Metálica – El Salvador
- MIICO – Tanzania
- Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin – United States
- Mining Justice Action Committee – Canada
- Mining Watch Romania – Romania
- MiningWatch Canada – Canada
- Movimento dos Atingidos e das Atingidas por Barragem (MAB) – Brazil
- Naturvernforbundet – Norway
- Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition – United States
- Northern Alaska Environmental Center – United States
- Observatoire d’Etudes et d’Appui à la Responsabilité Sociale et Environnementale, OEARSE – Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Okanogan Highlands Alliance – United States
- Oxfam America – United States
- Patagonia Area Resource Alliance – United States
- Pax Christi International-Latin America and Caribbean Program – Colombia
- Pembroke Clean Water – United States
- PODER (Project on Organizing, Development, Education and Research) – Mexico
- Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada – United States
- Project HEARD (Hub for Environmental Activists and Rights Defenders) – Netherlands
- Projet Resistaction – Centr’ERE, UQAM – Canada
- Quebec Meilleure Mine – Canada
- Radio Emergency COmmunication Operations Network (RECON Phil. Inc.) – Philippines
- Regroupement Vigilance Mines de l’Abitibi et du Témiscamingue (REVIMAT) – Canada
- Richwood Advisory Council – United States
- Rivers Without Borders – United States
- Rock Creek Alliance – United States
- Save Our Cabinets – United States
- Save our Seas and Shores Coalition – Canada
- Save Our St Vrain Valley, Inc. – United States
- Save The Scenic Santa Ritas – United States
- Sibuyanon Against Mining – Philippines
- Sierra Club – United States
- Silver Valley Community Resource Center – United States
- Society for Threatened Peoples – Switzerland
- SOS Grenville sur la rouge – Canada
- Southeast Alaska Conservation Council – United States
- Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) – United States
- Southwest Research and Information Center – United States
- St. Mary’s River Association – Canada
- Sulamesi Wildlife Foundation – Papua New Guinea
- The Friends of the Stikine Society – Canada
- The Mining Observatory (Observatório da Mineração) – Brazil
- Transport & Environment – Belgium
- Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso – United Kingdom
- Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs – Canada
- vetoNu – Sweden
- Vida e Ria ou Minaria – Spain
- Wilderness Committee – Canada
- Wildsight – Canada
- Wisconsin Resources Protection Council – United States
- Yukon Conservation Society – Canada
- Instituto Socioambiental – Brasil
Technical Experts
- Andre Oliveira Sawakuchi – Instituto de Geociências da Universidade de São Paulo
- Andrew Hopkins – Australian National University
- Cathal Doyle – Middlesex University
- Cristiana Losekann – Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
- Daniela Campolina Vieira – Grupo de Pesquisa Educação Mineração e Território – Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
- Dr. Robin Broad – American University
- Felipe Fayer Mansoldo – Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora
- Gavin Mudd – Independent Academic Expert
- Joám Evans Pim – Åbo Akademi University
- John Cavanagh – Global Economy Project, Institute for Policy Studies
- Karine Gonçalves Carneiro – Universidade Federal de Ouro Prieto
- Manoela Carneiro Roland – Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora
- Marcos Antonio Pedlowski – North Fluminense State University
- Martha Priscylla Monteiro Joca Martins – Université de Montréal
- Mbalenhle Mpanza – University of Johannesburg
- Tatiana Ribeiro de Souza – Universidade de Ouro Prieto
- Tchenna Fernandes Maso – Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora
- William Sacher – Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar
Indigenous Communities and Tribal Nations
- Luutkudziiwus – Gitsxan Nation
- Nuxalk Nation – Nuxalkulmc
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Earthworks helps families on the front lines of mining, drilling, and fracking. We use sound science to expose health, environmental, economic, social, and cultural impacts of mining and energy extraction. To support our efforts, please consider a tax-deductible donation today that will go toward our work reforming government policies, improving corporate practices, influencing investment decisions, and encouraging responsible materials sourcing and consumption.
