Following the collapse of the Tailings dam in South Africa earlier this month - where one person has died and over 100 people and houses damaged - the Church of England Pensions Board is leading 100 global investors, managing $23tr of AUM, a call for a new Global Tailings Legacy Rehabilitation Fund.

Tailings a by-products generated by mining, created as ore is crushed, ground and treated to extract the valuable metals or minerals within, but can create huge unstable mountains of loose material.

A Global Tailings Summit will be held in London on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Brumadinho disaster to consider proposals under development for a Global Tailings Repository that would include locations and ownership details for all tailings facilities whether in public or private hands; a Global Tailings Monitoring System to use satellites as well as ground sensors to independently monitor the highest risk dams not just those in public companies; and a Global Tailings Legacy Rehabilitation Fund to create a dedicated global fund that can be deployed to address the highest risk and dangerous orphaned tailings dams.

Considerable progress has been made following the Brumadinho disaster when investors worked with companies through the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and with the United Nations Environment Programme to develop a Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. The Standard is now being adopted by the largest companies around the world. Further work is also underway to conclude agreement by the UN and Institutional Investors on the creation of an independent Global Institute on Tailings Management.

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