Strengthening ESG & Tailings Governance in Mining

Why Recent TSF Failures Matter

High-profile tailings storage facility (TSF) failures have underlined that investors and communities demand exemplary ESG performance. To attract capital and retain their social licence to operate, mining companies must demonstrate comprehensive tailings governance, monitoring and disclosure.

ESG’s Role in Investment Decisions

ESG—Environmental, Social and Governance—metrics are now central in investor evaluations of sustainability and risk management. Strong ESG credentials can unlock access to a broader pool of capital, while failures invite regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage.

Post-Brumadinho Investor Action

Following the 2019 Brumadinho collapse—which released 12 million m³ of toxic tailings and claimed 270 lives—major asset owners (including the Church of England Pensions Board and Swedish AP Funds) mobilised the Investor Mining & Tailings Safety Initiative. They

Called for a Global Tailings Standard
Requested detailed TSF disclosures from 727 extractive companies
Achieved a 65% full public-disclosure rate by market capitalisation

This industry-wide transparency drive demonstrated investors’ power to enforce best practice through both top-down standards and bottom-up data requests.

Leveraging Technology to Improve ESG Sentiment

Compliance alone is no longer enough. Mining firms must adopt “good practice” frameworks—such as the ICMM’s Ten Principles—and engage stakeholders continuously. In response, Quartex has developed an integrated solution for tier-1 and tier-2 operators to address:

Tailings management workflows and audit tracking
Real-time monitoring via IoT, LiDAR, radar, drones and InSAR
Centralised documentation and stakeholder governance
Automated alerts for performance exceedances
Disclosure dashboards for investors, insurers and auditors

Quartex’s Governance & Monitoring Solution

Our platform consolidates diverse tailings data streams into a single visual interface, enabling you to:

Demonstrate ESG commitment with geospatial dashboards
Streamline disclosures against the Global Tailings Standard
Reduce insurance premiums through proven governance
Enhance investor confidence via transparent reporting

By integrating advanced monitoring tools—NDVI, NDRE, NDWI, MSAVI, InSAR and more—Quartex empowers you to manage TSFs proactively, safeguard communities and secure long-term investment.