ICMM, PRI & UNEP issue joint statement post the Jagersfontein tailings failure

Mourning the lives lost in the incident, the co-conveners of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, the ICMM, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) issued a statement saying that the failure of a dam containing mine waste, or tailings, in Jagersfontein, in South Africa’s Free State province, on 11 September was a tragedy that underscores the critical importance of responsible tailings management.
The statement mentioned that all stakeholders, from companies to governments and investors, must urgently work to enhance the safety of tailings storage facilities across the globe. And further elaborated that the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), launched in 2020, strives to achieve the ultimate goal of zero harm to people and the environment. The Standard is a step-change in terms of transparency, accountability and safeguarding the rights of the people affected by mining projects.
As convenors of that Standard, ICMM, PRI & UNEP once again called on wider investors, companies, communities and governments to join them in advocating for the Standard’s implementation by mining companies, whether public or private, across all existing and new sites, in all jurisdictions.
Mentioning that anything less than every tailings facility on Earth being responsibly managed is just not good enough, the convenors urged every mining company to immediately embrace the Standard as a top priority. They said that some companies, including all ICMM members, have committed to implementing the GISTM or equivalent standards, but many of the operators have yet to commit to doing so. 

Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished