New York- and JSE-listed Gold Fields has released two yearly tailings disclosure reports for its Tarkwa and Cerro Corona mines in Ghana and Peru, respectively, detailing their level of conformance against the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). 

The gold miner has four priority tailings storage facilities (TSFs) – three with a ‘very high’ consequence classification at its Tarkwa mine, and one with an ‘extreme’ consequence classification at its Cerro Corona mine. 

The release of these reports aligns with Gold Fields’ commitments in terms of the GISTM and eliminating harm to people and the environment, as well as its commitment as a member of the International Council on Mining & Metals to disclose its level of GISTM conformance for priority TSFs by August 5. 

The disclosure reports, which are available on the Gold Fields website, show that all four of the company’s priority TSFs partially conform to the GISTM, which contains 77 requirements integrating social, environmental, local economic and technical considerations. 

“Gold Fields fully supports the standard and what is planned to be achieved. Over the last three years, our teams have worked tirelessly to ensure that the four TSFs conform to the . . . GISTM. During this time, we have also made considerable progress in implementing the standard at our 33 remaining TSFs,” Gold Fields CEO Martin Preece said on August 3.

While Gold Fields has successfully addressed all elements related to material dam safety and the environment, it has nonetheless identified areas for further improvement, particularly in terms of community engagement and consultation and addressing human rights risks with respect to emergency response and preparedness.

“We have conducted internal and external third-party reviews to measure our conformance and acknowledge that we have not yet fully addressed all requirements.

“We are encouraged to see the transformative improvements in tailings management, engineering, governance and monitoring across the mining industry, and we have valued the collaboration with stakeholders and peers in openly sharing our experiences, expertise and lessons learned,” Preece said.

The GISTM, as a newly introduced governance and management standard, represents a significant positive step towards raising the standards in tailings management globally.