Known mining accidents

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An indication of the number and location of tailings dam failures since 1985. An analysis of tailings dam failures over the last three decades, indicates that while the overall number of failures has decreased, the number of serious failures has increased (Bowker and Chambers 2016).

Year: 2017

From collection: Mine Tailings Storage: Safety Is No Accident

Cartographer: Kristina Thygesen

Tags: mining

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Causes of tailing dams failures 1915-2016

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Considerations for long-term storage

Cross section of Tapian Pit

Differences between water-retention dams and tailing dams

Estimated amount of metals released into the environment

Germano mine storage facility failure

Growth in the volume of stored oil-sand tailings

Impacts of tailings dam failures on biodiversity and associated ecosystem services

Initiatives to improve mine waste management

Marine discharges of mine tailings

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Mount Polley mine storage facility failure

Recommendations and suggested actions for stopping tailings dam failures

Regulating for risk - implementing positive change

The location of the Baia Mare and Borsa tailings disasters in Romania and the affected rivers

Types of sequentially raised tailings dams

Val di Stava dam collapse

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Publications it appears in

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Towards Zero Harm: A Compendium of Papers Prepared for the Global Tailings Review

05 Aug 2020 Staff Publications

Global Tailings Dam Portal

This portal brings together all of the disclosures that mining companies have made about their tailings storage facilities.

10 Feb 2020 Web Solutions & Apps

A Roadmap for Improved Mine Waste Management: Summary Report of the Workshop on Mine Waste

Summary report of the workshop on mine waste. Report from multi-stakeholder forum helps progress recommendations on tailings dam safety.

11 Apr 2019 Monograph

Mine Tailings Storage: Safety Is no Accident

The report was prompted by tailings dam disasters and rising concerns about the safety and impacts of the mining industry's waste practices.

13 Nov 2017 Rapid Response Assessment

Related activities

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Global Tailings Dam Portal Project

The Global Tailings Portal is a public, searchable database with detailed information on more than 1,700 mine tailings dams around the world

Completed Global