New research will help mining companies better understand the negative societal and environmental impacts of mine-waste disasters, known as tailings flows, and hopefully avoid them.
New research will help mining companies better understand the negative societal and environmental impacts of mine-waste disasters, known as tailings flows, and hopefully avoid them.
Researchers created a database as part of a study that presents the first global picture of the occurrence rates, behaviours and physical impacts of tailings flows, which are rapid downstream movements of mine waste following failures of tailings impoundments.
The study, led by the University of Waterloo, involves researchers from across Canada and reports detailed information on 63 tailings flows that have occurred worldwide since 1928. Catastrophic tailings flows have happened once every two to three years on average since 1965, with many of these events causing death, long-lasting environmental contamination and severe infrastructure damage over distances that can span tens of kilometres. Hazardous weather and inadequate drainage systems have been the most frequent triggers for tailings flows since 1996.
Read more at: University of Waterloo
