As we experience and respond to the global pandemic, I truly believe that we are in the midst of some unique, significant learning and growth opportunities. This article is about some of the lessons we can learn from the responses to this pandemic, and how we might use these insights to make some changes in the mining industry, specifically focused around our waste management practices.
I am tired of hearing about the regularity of tailings dam failures, and distraught over the growing severity of consequences of the failures of late. In my opinion, it isn’t acceptable to continue creating such high levels of risk. As operators, we shouldn’t have to be creating and managing massive risk management programs, nor practicing massive emergency and evacuation protocols, for materials that we produce. We have control of what we create, to a large degree, if not entirely. And we have the power, and information, to make better decisions. So let’s see how we might do so.
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Modern projects of all kinds face innumerable challenges due to increasing scale, complexity, and stakeholder numbers. Failure rates, particularly for industrial and construction projects, have been on the order of 50-70% due to missed milestones, cost overruns, poor quality and dissatisfied customers or high-influencing stakeholders.
If we are a little more proactive, with early engagement with stakeholders, application of Lean processes, and the integration of Sustainability aspects, we can avoid many of these issues.
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Over a month ago, CIM held it's annual national conference titled "Thinking Differently."
Of course, everyone takes different things away from events like these, and they say "you only hear what you want to hear, only see what you came for." I suspect that is very true for most people, although for me, I do try to come with as open a mind as I can.
That said, I really was keen on listening for what might be "different!" Have we really broken those invisible barriers to change, to really take on and implement new ideas?
Here are my reflections on the event…
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In situations where there may be significant differences in perceived risks, and particularly when we are dealing with a number of stakeholders, we really need to take the time to understand one another's views.
What impacts our perceptions? And how can we come to see eye to eye?
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Everyone views waste as a cost centre. We move rock out of the way to get the good stuff. The shiny metals, the high-value gemstones, the money makers.
But what if we've had it wrong all this time and we just haven't been seeing the full potential held within the volumes of rock that we move?
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2018 marks the 20th anniversary of my undergraduate degree in geological engineering, as well as my whole-hearted dive into the mining world. I’ve watched many fantastic ideas, methodologies and technologies come forth, often to be squashed and put back on a shelf, and it's time that this stops!!
I’ve decided that it’s time to go big or go home, to start shouting about the possibilities, to start connecting the right collaborators and helping with finding the right solutions for big risk and sustainability-related opportunities.
Will you be a supporter?
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How do we get more buy in to actually turning tailings wastes into a product?
Is there more opportunity to create products out of those things or have them used as some other sources of reclamation materials to stabilize other sites.
How do we encourage more collaboration on that front?
Read this article, based on sessions of the Mines and Technology conference held in Toronto, October 2-4, 2017, where a panel had a dialogue around this question.
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How can we move forward to embrace new technologies, and the piloting of the many technologies already available, which can both recover value from, and reduce the risks of tailings management?
Read this article, based on sessions of the Mines and Technology conference held in Toronto, October 2-4, 2017, where a panel had a dialogue around this question.
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