In the midst of the fallout from Vale’s Brumandinho disaster, Rio Tinto says that its Australian tailings dams have engineering certification.
The company reportedly has 12 dams in Australia. One at Gove in the Northern Territory, eight in Queensland (QAL x 3, Weipa x 5) and three in WA (Paraburdoo, Robe Valley, Tom Price).
The company stated that all of its dams had an external engineering record or specified design engineering undertaken.
Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques has confirmed that shareholders should not be concerned over the Rio Tinto tailings dams.
“In light of this tragic event, Rio Tinto is again reviewing its global standard and, in particular, assessing how we can further strengthen the existing external audit of facilities,” he said.
“We fully support the need for greater transparency, which is why today we disclosed detailed information on our tailing facilities and how they are actively managed. We will add to this over time.”
“In August 2015, Rio Tinto introduced a global standard for ‘management of tailings and water storage facilities’ in order to ensure all our managed facilities are operated in accordance with one global standard and any risks are actively managed.
“This standard sets out a structured three-stage approach, underpinned by Rio Tinto’s safety management system, and an external audit programme.”
Read more Mining Safety News
Tailings dam risk management | Many global companies opportunities for improvement
