At the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic failure of the tailings dam at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia, Canada, and subsequent tailings dam disasters at mines in Mexico, we are writing to urge you to seriously consider the implications for tailings dam design and operational safety at hardrock mines around the world.
Based on the findings and recommendations of the technical review panel of the Mount Polley tailings dam failure, we urge UNEP to push for states and mining companies to immediately address threats posed by similar tailings dams at existing and proposed mines around the world.