DEPARTMENT OF MINES,
INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY —TAILINGS STORAGE FACILITIES
658. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the minister representing the
Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I refer to question without notice
607, asked on Tuesday, 11 June 2019, in relation to tailings storage
facilities.
(1) Of the tailings storage facilities outlined by
BHP, Rio Tinto and Glencore, how many are in Western Australia and where
are they?
(2) When did those companies advise
the department of the risk posed by those TSFs?
(3) Has the department visited those
TSFs; and, if so, when?
(4) What engineering is being
carried out to ensure the stability of these sites?
(5) What is the
nature of the risks posed by these TSFs and what safety management is in place
to ensure no risk to humans or the environment?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I thank the member for the question. The following
information has been provided by the Minister for Mines and Petroleum.
(1) BHP has tailings storage facilities in Newman,
Leinster, Mt Keith, Kambalda and Beenup. The latter one is closed. Rio has TSFs in Paraburdoo, Tom Price,
Yandi and Robe River. Glencore has a TSF at Murrin Murrin.
(2) The department regularly assesses and monitors the risks
posed by all TSFs in Western Australia.
(3) Yes. The
department visited BHP's sites in Newman in March 2018, Leinster in
October 2018, Mt Keith in November 2018, and Kambalda in January 2018; Rio's
sites in Argyle in May 2019, Paraburdoo in October 2017, Tom Price in March
2018, Yandi in July 2018 and Robe River in September 2017; and Glencore's
Murrin Murrin site in 2017.
(4) The
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety ensures that TSFs are
designed by suitably qualified and experienced engineers; experienced engineers
supervise the construction of TSFs and certify that construction complies with
the approved design; experienced engineers and technicians undertake quality
control testing and quality assurance work; and TSFs are audited and their
stability reviewed by qualified and experienced engineers on an annual basis.
(5) If TSFs
fail, they might, depending on the particular circumstances of their location,
pose safety, health and environmental hazards to land immediately downstream.
Mining companies are also concerned about operational risks to plant and
equipment should TSFs fail. Mining operations are required to have a management
plan for TSFs. These plans include that each TSF is inspected by mine site
personnel at least twice a day to ensure that all its components are operating
within design limits. In particular, no excess water is stored on TSFs. The
water levels on TSFs are maintained at the minimum amount possible. Adequate
freeboard is always maintained to safely accommodate water from extreme
rainfall events, as recommended in the DMIRS
publications ''Code of Practice: Tailings Storage Facilities in Western Australia''
and ''Guidelines on the Safe Design and Operating Standards for Tailings
Storage''. Audits and stability reviews are carried out by qualified and
experienced engineers on an annual basis.