- Make safety the guiding principle with zero tolerance for human fatalities in design, construction, operation, and closure
- Consent of affected communities
- Ban new tailings facilities where inhabited areas are in the path of a tailings dam failure
- Ban upstream dams at new mines, and safely close existing upstream facilities
- Any potential loss of life is an extreme event and design must respond accordingly
- Mandate the use of Best Available Technologies, in particular for filtered tailings
- Implement rigorous controls for safety
- Ensure a detailed evaluation of the dam foundation and the tailings properties
- Appropriate monitoring systems must be in place to identify, disclose, and mitigate risks
- Ensure the independence of reviewers to promote safety
- Towards safer closure with no credible failure modes
- Address financial risks, including securities for site closure and proper insurances for accidental spills
- Grievance procedures and whistleblower protection
- Emergency preparedness and response
- Information regarding mine safety must be made publicly available
- Ensure access to independent technical assistance
- Accountability for risk, minimizing the consequences of failure, preventing failure, and the consequences of failure must primarily rest with the board of directors
For More Information
- Fighting Mining Injustice (main Earthworks campaign page)
- Communities at Risk
