November 7, 2025
This week I attended the Tailings and Mine Waste Conference in Banff. It was a great event in a beautiful setting. The best part was connecting with friends and colleagues, both old and new.
My takeaways:
โข ๐ง๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐๐น๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต. Whether it was in the context of site operations, the EOR team, or the review board, everyone was talking about the need to work well with other groups and expertise. Geochemists and mine planners were popular desired collaborators.
โข ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐. Many operations have better governance and risk management, and designs that are more responsive to site context. Weโre in the early stages of implementation with practicalities weโre still trying to figure out. Weโre also thoughtfully guarding against it becoming a box-ticking exercise.
โข ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ. We donโt currently have enough people to do all the things that need to be done to safely and efficiently manage the tens of thousands of tailings facilities in the world. Weโre also working hard to attract, train, and mentor the next generation of tailings professionals and recognize that we have reputational challenges to overcome.
โข ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐โ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐. Tailings that arenโt conventional slurry tailings (paste/thickened/filtered/dewatered) are in use at many operations and are no longer a prohibitively costly or complicated option. Review boards have matured: they are more common, their role is better defined, and their contributions are better used. We talk a lot more about geochemistry, water management, and social considerations (and can still do more to integrate these considerations). There are case studies of largely successful closure, but itโs not yet an integrated element of design and operations. A lot changed in the 20 years before I got into tailings in 2007, so itโs not hard to be optimistic about the changes we might see in the next 20 years. Especially with the skill and dedication on display at TMW.
Throughout the conference, I was reminded of the challenges and importance of tailings work and I left the conference feeling motivated about working in this space.