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Path to Safe Closure : A Case Study and Lessons Learned

Tailings and Mine Waste Conference (2023 : Vancouver, B.C.); University of British Columbia. Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering

Following the release in August 2020 of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (Tailings Standard), prepared jointly by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), ICMM members and some other mining companies have committed to implement its principles. While the level of information that an owner develops for specific Tailings Standard requirements may vary depending on the lifecycle stage of a specific tailings storage facility (TSF), the overall conformance process is similar throughout. TSFs that are demonstrated to be in “safe closure”, as confirmed by an Independent Technical Review Board or Senior Independent Technical Reviewer, are not subject to the Tailings Standard. This paper outlines the process Freeport-McMoRan1 has taken to achieve safe closure status, as defined by the Tailings Standard, for a set of closed TSFs in Arizona. Freeport-McMoRan has robust internal reclamation and post-reclamation monitoring and surveillance programs. Over the past twenty years, Freeport-McMoRan has established a proactive assessment and review process that has been undertaken across its portfolio. This includes Tailings Stewardship Team (TST) inspections and action item follow-up, appointment of Engineers of Record, and active engagement of Independent Technical Review Boards (ITRBs). The work completed through this ongoing process provided the basis for the determination of safe closure status for the set of closed TSFs. This process and the lessons learned from demonstrating safe closure status are outlined in this paper.

Text

2023-12-08

Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/86832

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/