OTTAWA – The Mining Association of Canada has commissioned an independent, multi-stakeholder task force to review the tailings management requirements under its Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative, a mandatory program for all MAC members.
The task force is part of MAC's ongoing review of its tailings program, that began immediately after the tailings spill at the Mount Polley gold-copper mine last August in British Columbia. The task force will review the TSM tailings requirements and the contents of MAC's three tailings management guides. Members will then advise on how MAC's requirements and guidelines can be enhanced and strengthened. The task force will also review the findings and recommendations of British Columbia's independent engineering investigation into the dam failure before making its proposals.
One of the BC panel’s key recommendations pertaining to corporate governance was that any mining operation proposing to operate a tailings storage facility in BC should either be required to be a member of MAC – ensuring adherence to TSM – or be obliged to commit to an equivalent program that would also include an audit function.
The independent task force will be chaired by Doug Horswill, a former chair of MAC’s board and former senior VP of sustainability and external affairs at Teck Resources. The task force will include the following representatives:
Category of Expertise | Representative |
Geotechnical engineer | Peter Lighthall, independent consultant, formerly with AMEC and Klohn Crippen |
Geotechnical engineer | Dr. John Sobkowicz, Thurber Engineering |
First Nations/ environment/engineering | Nalaine Morin, Tahltan Heritage Resources Environmental Assessment Team |
Environmental/community perspectives | Alan Young, International Boreal Conservation Campaign and member of MAC’s Community of Interest Advisory Panel |
Management systems/TSM expertise | Dr. Craig Ford, Corporate Responsibility Solutions, executive in residence at the Schulich School of Business |
Tailings management | Dr. Michael Davies, Teck Resources and chair of MAC’s Tailings Working Group |
Dirk Van Zyl, who served on the BC panel, will serve as a special advisor to the task force.
Read the complete TSM Independent Review Task Force Terms of Reference.
Comments
Karl Reimer
This review is timely and necessary. As I was reading over the Terms of Reference, I was reminded of the Spill Prevention Contingency Plan regulation that was brought into Ontario in 07/08 (O.Reg 224-07). The intent of this regulation is to prevent catastrophic spills and at the same time have contingency plans in place should such an event occur. The SPCP is a living document and seeks to aid industrial sites(mines and smelters included)in promoting annual reviews of the operations to help identify processes that may require overhauling.
Peter Broad
It would seem that living documents do not live long enough to be applied.
Maybe this is a task for engineers who are currently licensed rather than experts whoes licences may have lapsed, Dams are an engineered structure not an out-of-sight mining waste pond