Anglo American plc has set out its progress towards bringing its 12 tailings storage facilities (TSFs), that are currently within the two highest potential consequence categories, into conformance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).
The GISTM is the first global standard on tailings facility management and sets a purposely high bar for the mining industry to attain – integrating social, environmental, local economic, and technical considerations for every facility towards the goal of zero harm to people and the environment.
Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said:
“We have made very significant progress towards conformance with the GISTM over the last three years, building upon our already high technical standards. We continue our prudent approach to align with a number of specific GISTM requirements, as well as the social and community aspects that are already encompassed in our comprehensive Social Way management system. We are addressing the few outstanding areas and have set out the work needed to get us there.
“As an industry, we have a clear ethical imperative to do everything possible to ensure that TSFs are managed to the highest standards as we work together to build greater levels of trust with all our stakeholders. GISTM’s role in driving continuous improvement across the industry with full transparency is beyond doubt.”