Global-scale impact analysis of mine tailings dam failures: 1915–2020

Abstract

Tailings are the waste materials generated from mining activities and are typically stored in large man-made earthen dams in the form of slurry. Failures of such tailings dams can have deleterious effects on the environment and even impact areas that are miles away from the failed dam. In this study, we updated the existing tailings dam failure database developed by the International Commission on Large Dams and World Information Service on Energy and analyzed the impacts of dam failure over the past hundred years from a global perspective. In addition, we prepared a tailings dam spatial database. The impact of mine tailings dam failure on aquatic environments was also investigated using a proxy environmental indicator—the gray water footprint. The resulting information from the historical overview of dam failures, was used to map the risk associated with existing tailings dams as well as the magnitude of tailings dam failures. Furthermore, we integrated mining commodity production data and the tailings dam failure data. This revealed that the number of failures is rising once again, and the trajectory of dam failures has shifted from developed to developing countries. Only a few dam failure incidents have had significant impacts. Although safer technologies are available to manage mine waste, most extractive industries are yet to adopt such technologies into their standard practices. Moreover, the reluctance of mining companies for the public disclosure of information related to tailings dams and dam failures hinders efforts to establish a complete tailings dam database. We have provided up-to-date tailings dam information, which may be useful for extractive industries.