ICMM member companies are set to publish their progress towards conformance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) by August 5, 2025, with the ICMM set to consolidate data from members on their conformance to the GISTM once they are published.
The GISTM was developed after the tragic failure of a tailings facility at Brumadinho, Brazil, in 2019, through an independent process convened by ICMM, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Setting a high bar for conformance, it contains 77 requirements integrating social, environmental, local economic and technical considerations which strive to achieve the goal of zero harm to people and the environment.
When it was published in August 2020, ICMM members committed that all of their applicable facilities would conform with the GISTM by August 2025. ICMM members will disclose the status of conformance for each facility, and a summary of time-bound measures to address any gaps, alongside the GISTM mandated disclosures on or before August 5, 2025.
Aidan Davy, co-COO, ICMM, said: “ICMM members have an unequivocal commitment to implementing and achieving conformance with the GISTM. The standard sets a very high bar, and we believe that its implementation has already resulted in transformative improvements across our members and beyond in tailings engineering, management, governance and the integration of geotechnical, environmental and social considerations.
“We will consolidate data from member disclosures on their conformance to the GISTM once they are published. For transparency on our member’s collective progress and to help share good practice from implementation for the wider industry, ICMM will publish a tailings progress report later this year.”
ICMM says it remains committed to driving collective progress in the safe, responsible and transparent management of tailings through fostering collaboration and facilitating shared learning across the industry.
Together with UNEP and PRI, ICMM is currently supporting the establishment of the Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI), which launched in January 2025. The GTMI is an independent, multi-stakeholder organisation aiming to improve the safety of mine tailings facilities worldwide by managing an independent auditing and certification process against the requirements of the GISTM.
The GTMI, which will be based in Johannesburg, South Africa, will manage an assurance framework where tailings facilities will be independently audited and certified against the GISTM by qualified, independent third-party assessors.
