The management of risks associated with tailings storage facilities (TSFs) is critical for ensuring the safe operation and closure of mining operations. Effective tailings risk management encompasses three main elements: risk identification, implementation of an appropriate control regime, and verification of control performance. Risk identification involves systematically analyzing potential failure modes, their likelihood, and associated consequences. Appropriate controls must then be established to reduce risks to acceptable levels through preventative and mitigative measures. Verification of control performance is essential for ensuring the ongoing effectiveness of risk management strategies. This includes monitoring and auditing programs to assess the performance of critical controls and identify any potential control degradation or gaps.

The key to optimizing efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of all mineral processing – in particular, comminution - lies in innovative flowsheets. This presentation will explore best practices in layout design for technologies such as the HPGR (High Pressure Grinding Roll) and vertical stirred mills, ensuring high operability and maintainability for both Green and Brownfield operations. Further, it will de-risk adoption concerns across the various project stages with process validation experiences. The overall energy savings of this flowsheet accumulate to a sum much larger than its individual process equipment units, resulting in significant operational cost savings for its adopters – and a more sustainable future for all.