From the Executive Summary
- view Executive Summary as stand-alone pdf
- full report en español
- full report em português
- full report dalam bahasa indonesia
- list of 142 NGOs and technical experts endorsing Safety First
The 2019 mine tailings dam collapse near Brumadinho, Brazil, killed over 250 people and decimated houses and buildings for kilometers before flowing into the Paraopeba River. The catastrophe stunned the world, but should not have come as a surprise. Tailings facilities, which contain the processed waste materials generated from mining metals and minerals, are failing with increasing frequency and severity.
Current industry standards, the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management released in 2020, do not go far enough to adequately protect communities and ecosystems from failures. The design, construction, operation and closure of tailings facilities require significant changes to protect people and the environment.
The safest tailings facility is the one that is not built. To avoid the long-term liability of mine waste sites and their social and environmental impacts, we must reduce the volume of tailings produced, as well as the overall demand for primary raw minerals. Over the past 40 years, ore grades have declined on average by half for many minerals, effectively doubling the volume of mine waste tailings generated for each unit of mineral produced. Current trends suggest an additional 2- to 10-fold increase in the extraction and uses of most minerals by 2060. These trends are not sustainable. We need to continue to mine at least some minerals, including to support energy transition technologies, but we need best standards and practices to do so.
If your organization would like to join us in working to protect communities from dangerous mining practices, you can do so by signing on here.
For More Information
- Preventing Mine Waste Disasters (main Earthworks campaign page)
- Tailings and Disposal
- Communities at RIsk
- Safety First: Guidelines for Responsible Mine Tailings Management. Earthworks & MiningWatch Canada, 2020.
- The Global Industry Standard On Tailings Management vs Safety First Guidelines
Endorsers of Safety First
|
Organization or Frontline Community |
Location |
| Aberdeen Neighbourhood Association | British Columbia, Canada |
| Action Boréale | Québec, Canada |
| ACWA / Earth Island Institute | Alaska, USA |
| Aksi Ekologi & Emansipasi Rakyat (AEER) | Indonesia |
| Amazon Watch | USA |
| Amnesty International Canada | British Columbia, Canada |
| Anthropocene Alliance | USA |
| Arizona Mining Reform Coalition | Arizona, USA |
| Association pour la Protection du Lac Taureau (APLT) | Québec, Canada |
| Atlantic Salmon Federation | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Bank Information Center | Washington, DC, USA |
| BC Mining Law Reform Network | British Columbia, Canada |
| Bench Marks Foundation | Southern Africa |
| Campbell River Environmental Committee | British Columbia, Canada |
| Canadian Environmental Law Association | Ontario, Canada |
| Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (CPAWS-QC) | Québec, Canada |
| CATAPA | Belgium |
| Center for Science in Public Participation | Montana, USA |
| Centre de recherche en éducation et formation relatives à l’environnement (Centr’ERE) | Québec, Canada |
| Centre for Research on Latin Amarica and the Carabbean (York University) | Ontario, Canada |
| Centro de Saberes para a Sustentabilidade | Galicia, Spain |
| Coalition des Opposants a un Projet minier en Haute-Matawinie (COPH) | Québec, Canada |
| Coalition Quebec Meilleure Mine | Québec, Canada |
| Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River | Michigan & Wisconsin, USA |
| Colchester Community | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Collectif scientifique sur la question du gaz de schiste et les enjeux énergétiques au Québec | Québec, Canada |
| Comité Ambiental en Defensa de la Vida | Colombia |
| Comité citoyen de protection de l’esker | Québec, Canada |
| Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique Latine (CDHAL) | Québec, Canada |
| Concerned Citizens of Quesnel Lake | British Columbia, Canada |
| Conservation Northwest | Washington, USA |
| ContraMINAcción | Galicia, Spain |
| COOPERACCION | Peru |
| Council of Canadians (Atlantic) | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| CPAWS Yukon | Yukon, Canada |
| David Suzuki Foundation | Québec, Canada |
| Denver Justice and Peace Committee | Denver, USA |
| E-Tech International | New Mexico, USA |
| Earth Law Center | USA |
| Earthworks | USA |
| Earthjustice | USA |
| Eau Secours | Québec, Canada |
| Ecology Action Centre | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Ecology Center | Michigan, USA |
| Environmental Defence Canada | Canada |
| Estonian Forest Aid (Eesti Metsa Abiks) | Estonia |
| Fair Mining Collaborative | British Columbia, Canada |
| First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining | Canada |
| Fondation Rivières | Québec, Canada |
| Friends of the Earth Canada | Canada |
| Frojám Community ICCA | Galicia, Spain |
| Fundação Montescola | Galicia, Spain |
| Fundación Tantí – Observatorio Plurinacional de Salares Andinos | Chile |
| Goa Foundation | India |
| Goenchi Mati Movement | India |
| Great Basin Resource Watch | Nevada, USA |
| Greenpeace Brasil | Brazil |
| GRUFIDES | Cajamarca, Perú |
| Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisas Socioambientais (GEPSA) | Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| Grupo de Pesquisa e Extensão Politica, Economia, Mineração, Ambiente e Sociedade (PoEMAS) | Brazil |
| Headwaters Montana | Montana, USA |
| Igapo Project | France |
| IndustriALL Global Union | Switzerland |
| Information Network for Responsible Mining | Colorado, USA |
| Instituto Políticas Alternativas para o Cone Sul (PACS) | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar) | Pará, Brazil |
| Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) | Colombia |
| Justiça nos Trilhos | Maranhão, Brazil |
| KAIROS Halifax | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA) | British Columbia, Canada |
| Kamloops Moms for Clean Air | British Columbia, Canada |
| LEAD Agency | Oklahoma, USA |
| Limerick Area Conservation Coalition | Ontario, Canada |
| London Mining Network | United Kingdom |
| Malach Consulting | Utah, USA |
| Menikanaehkem Inc. | Wisconsin, USA |
| MIICO | Tanzania |
| Mineral Policy Institute (MPI) | Australia |
| Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin | Wisconsin, USA |
| Mining Injustice Solidarity Network | Canada |
| Mining Watch Romania | Romania |
| MiningWatch Canada | Canada |
| mines, minerals & PEOPLE (mm&P) | India |
| Movimento dos Atingidos e das Atingidas por Barragem (MAB) | Brazil |
| Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment | New Mexico, USA |
| Municipality of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge | Québec, Canada |
| Natural Resources Defense Council | USA |
| Nature Québec | Québec, Canada |
| Nature St-Zenon | Québec, Canada |
| Naturvernforbundet – Friends of the Earth Norway – Mining Group | Norway |
| Northern Confluence Initiative | British Columbia, Canada |
| Northwatch | Ontario, Canada |
| Nova Scotia Salmon Association | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Observatoire d’Etudes et d’Appui à la Responsabilité Sociale et Environnementale | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Okanogan Highlands Alliance | Washington, USA |
| Ontarians for Just & Accountable Mineral Strategy (OJAMS) | Ontario, Canada |
| Oxfam America | USA |
| Plataforma Vecinal Mina Touro – O Pino NON | Galicia, Spain |
| Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) | Nevada, USA |
| Project on Organizing, Development, Education, and Research (PODER) | Mexico |
| Rainforest Action Group | Australia & Ecuador |
| Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs (RAVEN) | British Columbia, Canada |
| Regroupement de Protection des Lacs de la Petite-Nation | Québec, Canada |
| REVIMAT | Québec, Canada |
| Rivers Without Borders | Alaska, USA |
| Rock Creek Alliance | Mountain States, USA |
| Salmon Beyond Borders | Alaska, USA & British Columbia, Canada |
| Salva la Selva | Spain |
| Save Our Cabinets | Mountain States, USA |
| Save Our Seas and Shores Coalition | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Save the South Fork Salmon | Idaho, USA |
| Sierra Club Canada | Canada |
| Sierra Club USA | USA |
| SOS Grenville-sur-la-Rouge | Québec, Canada |
| Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) | Alaska, USA |
| Southwest Research and Information Center | USA |
| St. Mary’s River Association | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia Society | Nova Scotia, Canada |
| The Andrew Lees Trust | United Kingdom |
| The Friends of the Stikine Society | British Columbia, Canada |
| The Future We Need | International |
| The Gaia Foundation | Europe |
| The Lands Council | Washington, USA |
| Thompson Institute of Environmental Studies | British Columbia, Canada |
| Union of BC Indian Chiefs | Turtle Island, Canada |
| Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition | Michigan, USA |
| Vegans & Vegetarians of Alberta | Alberta, Canada |
| Verdegaia | Galicia, Spain |
| Vida e Ria ou Minaria | Galicia, Spain |
| Weber Sustainability Consulting | Utah, USA |
| West Coast Development Foundation | Papua New Guinea |
| Wilderness Committee | British Columbia, Canada |
| Wildsight | British Columbia, Canada |
| Wilp Luutkudziiwus Nation | Gitxsan Laxyip, British Columbia, Canada |
| Wisconsin Resources Protection Council | Wisconsin & Michigan, USA |
| Yes to Life No to Mining | Latin America |
| Yukon Conservation Society | Yukon, Canada |
|
Technical Experts |
Expertise |
| Dr. Robin Broad | International Development |
| Gavin Mudd | Sustainable Mining, Mine Waste Management, & Environmental Impacts |
| André Oliveira Sawakuchi | Fluvial Sedimentology & Environmental Geology |
| Cathal Doyle | International Human Rights Law & Sustainable Development and Human Rights |
| Tchenna Fernandes Maso | Human Rights, Populations Affected by Dams, & Women’s Rights |
| Dr. Marcos A. Pedlowski | Environmental Design and Planning |