The evolution toward TSF performance monitoring

There is no escaping the significance of what happened on January 25 this year at Vale’s Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The failure of the operation’s tailings facility killed some 250 people and, with 25 still missing, the eventual death toll will inevitably move higher. The incident has triggered a major, industry-wide and cross-organisational response to tailings storage facility (TSF) best practice in a manner not dissimilar to the safety and security response to the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.