TAILINGS FACTSHEET Introduction by Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive The physical activities of extracting At Anglo American, we upgraded significantly decrease the volume of and processing ore to separate our technical standard for tailings waste material produced: through valuable metals and minerals have dam safety management in early bulk ore sorting, for example, long involved significant quantities of 2014, going beyond established whereby we are able to process a residue material – including tailings. regulatory and industry standards in greater proportion of ore and less As the world’s demand for many respects. However, this is not waste rock; and through coarse raw materials has grown at an a competition and we continue to particle recovery technology which accelerating pace in recent decades, share our experiences with others in allows us to extract the metal or and as the grades of many ores the industry in pursuit of minimising mineral from larger particle sizes, have decreased over time, so the impacts to ecosystems and helping thereby allowing far greater and volumes of this residue material create a safer environment. easier de-watering of the tailings. have increased, exponentially. We also recognise that, rather than Both of these technologies also In recent years, the world has simply scaling up mining’s processes offer major energy and water witnessed a number of catastrophic to meet demand (as has been usage reductions for each tonne tailings dam failures with tragic common practice), the industry will of metal or mineral produced. consequences, caused by a variety need to find new, more efficient and We hope you find this factsheet of factors, some of which may never more sustainable ways of working. useful to better understand tailings, be fully understood. However, there is With certain ores, it is possible to the approach we take to seek a clear ethical and moral imperative significantly de-water the waste and to ensure the safety of tailings to use all possible endeavours to then deposit the waste material with storage facilities, and the different ensure that tailings facilities are lower moisture content, significantly future we are working towards. managed to the highest standards of improving its stability and reducing risk. safety using the latest technologies so that our industry can rebuild We are also working on a number trust with all our stakeholders. of technologies that we expect to www.angloamerican.com TAILINGS FACTSHEET WHAT ARE TAILINGS? Tailings are the materials left over Generally speaking, mineral processing mixture is de-watered to the extent following the processing of mined ore involves crushing and grinding ore possible and then stored in a tailings that separates the valuable metals or into fine particles and mixing with storage facility (TSF). minerals from the host rock. water and other agents to facilitate There are other forms of mineral Tailings are not the same as waste the extraction of the targeted metals residue that consist of coarse material rock, the latter being soil or rock or or minerals. Once separated, the - from diamond or coal processing, other material that covers or surrounds remaining material tends to be a for example - that are more readily an orebody and that is displaced mixture of fine particles (that range in de-watered and can be dry-stacked or during mining but is not processed. size from a grain of sand to much finer deposited in mined-out pits. powder) and water. This tailings The El Torito tailings facility at El Soldado, Chile. WHAT IS A TAILINGS STORAGE FACILITY? TSFs play a major role in many mining operations around the world. A TSF is a highly engineered structure which consists of one or more tailings dams, with embankments designed to permanently store the tailings. Every individual dam is unique and is designed, built and operated to specifications that are tailored to the physical nature of the tailings material itself, and a number of other factors including the local climate, topography and seismicity. As the tailings are deposited into the engineered TSF over time, much of the water separates from the fine particles (either naturally or through a mechanised process) and is recycled The solar panels installed on the Las Tórtolas tailings facility at Los Bronces, Chile. back into the mining processes. www.angloamerican.com 2 TAILINGS FACTSHEET ANGLO TSF SAFETY MANAGEMENT AMERICAN'S Project/operational reviews best Group technical specialists Group TECHNICAL practice & risk management support STANDARD Technical assurance – critical Internal risk assurance Group (OVERVIEW) controls reviews Anglo American’s TSFs are subject Independent TRP Annual technical review panel External to our mandatory Group Technical BU Technical Routine site visits/governance/ BU Standard, in place since 2014 standard expert audits/support and which exceeds current ICMM (International Council on Mining Engineer of and Metals) and regulatory record Quarterly/annual inspections External requirements in all host jurisdictions. This best-in-class standard sets minimum requirements for design Operation Routine inspections by field staff Operation criteria, monitoring, inspection and surveillance, and was peer-reviewed by international specialists. DESIGN AND CHANGE MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION AND AUDIT MANAGEMENT MONITORING • Local site-based operational • All TSFs are built following • ‘Major’ or ‘High’ CCS facilities have personnel conduct daily / weekly / established minimum design a Competent Person in charge. biweekly inspections. criteria aimed at ensuring • Each TSF has an Engineer • EoR conducts formal dam safety structural integrity. of Record (EoR), providing reviews at all managed sites on a • Change management is delivered continuous support from initial quarterly, semi-annual and / to the highest standards aimed at design and construction, to or annual basis. ensuring the structural integrity is monitoring and support. • A technical review panel conducts preserved over time. • Dedicated team of Group level an independent review of critical • All TSFs have a Consequence Engineering specialists provide facilities at least once per year. Classification of Structure (CCS) oversight, strategic direction and rating based on the potential technical support. A review of hazard evaluation. tailings facilities at non-managed operations is done on a rotational basis approximately every three years. • Various forms of remote and other monitoring technology are used to measure TSF performance, including ground movement and seepage. Anglo American's Group Technical Standard is available at: www.angloamerican.com/tsf Two operators supervising operations at the Las Tórtolas tailings facility at Los Bronces, Chile. www.angloamerican.com 3 TAILINGS FACTSHEET TAILINGS SAFETY TECHNOLOGY Passive resistivity Fibre optic sensing Micro-seismic monitoring We are using a geophysical method We have also installed fibre optic cable At our new Quellaveco copper mine called passive resistivity surveys, where technology into some of our tailings that we are developing in Peru, we are we have been able to use geophysical dams and we will complete three pilot taking further steps by introducing techniques to identify phreatic surface projects by the end of 2019, providing micro-seismic monitoring of tailings levels in tailings dams and identify near real-time monitoring of strain, dam foundations using specialised any potential soft or unconsolidated deformation and seepage in our dams. sensors. This technology will provide zones. We have run this technique In some cases, satellite technology high quality target monitoring of across a large portion of our Major and will be combined with fibre optic various structures in the dam body High CCS rated dams as an additional cable monitoring to complement the and the foundation, localising any check, to better understand the performance and behaviour of potential movement. It is also aimed conditions of the structure. the structure. at the geological and structural features in the dams and their foundations. We believe this approach is a first for the industry in relation to tailings dams performance. FUTURESMART MINING™ – changing the future of tailings Anglo American is working on implementing a number of step-change technologies that we expect to significantly decrease the volume of waste material produced in the extraction and processing of mineral ore, while also offering major water and energy usage reductions for each tonne of metal or mineral produced, as well as smaller overall mine waste footprints. Coarse particle recovery Bulk sorting Combining bulk sorting, coarse particle Coarse particle recovery (CPR) is a Bulk sorting leverages new sensor recovery and shock-break is expected recovery method that uses a fluidised technology that can, in real time, reject to enable greater operational efficiency bed to enable valuable minerals, a proportion of sub-economic material and materially reduce our consumption with as little as 1% mineral surface early in the processing sequence, of water and energy. In 2019, we will exposure, to be separated from creating opportunities to both increase further develop our dry-disposal gangue (commercially valueless ore). plant throughput and reduce the technologies, with a view to recovering Energy savings can be realised but volume of waste material to the TSF. more than 80% of the water we use the water savings are even more Bulk sorting thereby also delivers across our operations. significant as