The Risky Rise of the Dams
With mining growth comes larger, deeper, more unwieldy tailings ponds, experts warn. By Andrew Nikiforuk, Today, TheTyee.ca The average height of a tailings dam has grown from 120 metres in the 1960s to 240 metres today. Image of Mount Polley tailings dam spill by Cariboo Regional District. A massive mining...
Chronology of major tailings dam failures – updated with Mount Polley
Just updated to include Mount Polley from http://www.wise-uranium.org/mdaf.html(from 1960 – last updated 6 Aug 2014) Date Location Parent company Ore type Type of Incident Release Impacts 2014, Aug. 4 Mount Polley mine, near Likely, British Columbia, Canada Imperial Metals Corp. copper, gold tailings dam failure 4.5 million m3 of...