Rio Tinto Reviews Global Standards for Tailings Facilities Following Brazil Disaster

   By Oliver Griffin 
 

Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.LN) is reviewing its global standards for tailings facilities in the wake of the January disaster when a dam belonging to Vale SA (VALE) burst in Brazil's Minas Gerais state.

The Anglo-Australian miner said Wednesday that it has 100 tailings facilities--structures made up of dams for storing uneconomical ore--across 32 sites, as well as a further 36 tailings facilities that are closed or under rehabilitation. Of its 100 tailings facilities, 21 are upstream construction facilities, Rio Tinto said.

The upstream design, which refers to the direction in which the dam is raised, is the most widely used method for permanently storing waste from mines. The design, under which the dam is gradually built upon a reservoir of tailings, is also the cheapest one but experts say it is the most prone to failure.

Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sabastien Jacques said the company is assessing how it can further strengthen the existing external audit of facilities.

"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," Mr. Jacques said.

Write to Oliver Griffin at [e-mail]; @OliGGriffin

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2019 09:31 ET (14:31 GMT)

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