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2025 brought multiple failures that underscored the consequences of delayed action in TSF management.
Tailings 2025: Lessons learned and the road to safer systems 2025 exposed the fragility of tailings governance and water management. 2026 must turn lessons into action. 2 025 saw multiple tailings dam failures, including a significant incident in Zambia in February. The global clean energy transition is accelerating, and with it, the demand communities and the surrounding environments must matter as much as the minerals we extract.” Africa, home to some of the world’s most important supplies of copper, cobalt, manganese and PGMs,
sits at the centre of this minerals surge. But 2025 highlighted a troubling truth: while governance frameworks like the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) are maturing, the frequency and severity of tailings failures show that implementation is not keeping pace with the risks. 2025: A year of progress – and painful reminders The International Council on Mining and Metals’ (ICMM) 2025 Tailings Progress Report reflected significant progress in governance: • 67% of member facilities have now achieved full compliance with GISTM. • More than 80% of ‘extreme’ and ‘very high’ consequence facilities are compliant, showing that accountability is steadily moving to board level. But the flip side is a stark one: one-third of facilities
for critical minerals. Global forums like the G20, COP30, and Mining2030 have made substantial public declarations of intent, and yet, as 2025 has shown, there are several opportunities to improve the systems responsible for managing the transition and to affect change across the entire value chain. Companies that purchase, trade, and are involved in sourcing metals and minerals should demand transparency and visibility on how mining and tailings management are done sustainability. “Net Zero is a pipe dream if we cannot and do not get the basics of proactively managing water on our mines. We cannot safely grow global mineral supply on a foundation of fragile tailings systems,” says Alastair Bovim, CEO and co-founder of environmental intelligence company Insight Terra. “Every rechargeable battery, electric vehicle, and wind turbine begins in a mine, and the safety of those mine
Alastair Bovim, CEO of Insight Terra.
56 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | February 2026
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