Mining / tailings dam
25 cases in 23 countries, 1966–2025. Most cases: Brazil (5), United States (3), United Kingdom (3), Spain (2), Canada (2).
Andalusia approves last permit to reopen Aznalcóllar mine near Doñana
Andalusia's regional government approved the last permit to reopen the Aznalcóllar mine, the site of a 1998 disaster near Doñana. The permit allows about 85,520 million litres of discharge into the Guadalquivir estuary over 18.5 years.
Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex: Barrick–Mali dispute, provisional administration and settlement
Mali and Barrick, which owns 80% of the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex, disputed taxes, dividends and the mining code from 2023; gold was seized, operations suspended in January 2025 and a provisional administrator ran the complex from June to December 2025. A settlement announced on 24 November 2025 included a payment of about FCFA 143 billion. Barrick's disclosures for the complex's tailings facility and cyanide plant record an "Extreme" consequence classification and cyanide limit exceedances.
Sino-Metals Leach tailings dam failure and the Kafue River (Zambia)
A tailings dam at the Sino-Metals Leach site in Zambia's Copperbelt failed in February 2025 and acidic waste reached the Kafue River system. The company's first statement put the spill at 50,000 tonnes; a contractor reported at least 1.5 million tonnes. The government penalty was reported at 1.5 million kwacha, while damages claims exceeded US$420 million and 176 residents sought US$80 billion.
Chile's tailings inventory: 601 of 795 deposits inactive, 53 abandoned
Chile's tailings inventory lists 795 deposits, of which 601 are inactive and 53 abandoned. The number of abandoned deposits was 173 in 2022, and the cited sources do not explain the change or report the deposits' environmental condition.
Çöpler (İliç) heap leach collapse
On 13 February 2024 a heap of ore being leached with cyanide slid at the Çöpler gold mine in İliç, Turkey, and nine workers died. A criminal trial of 43 defendants is ongoing, and in 2026 the majority owner sold its 80% stake to Cengiz Holding.
Vale ore-sand (Agera) tailings sand
Vale set up a company, Agera, to sell sand made from iron-ore mining tailings. About 0.9 million tonnes were sold from 2021 to 2023, against an estimated Brazilian sand consumption of about 214 million tonnes in 2018.
Angolan diamond mine tailings leak: DR Congo reports 12 dead, about 4,400 patients
The DR Congo government reported 12 deaths and about 4,400 patients after a tailings leak from the Catoca diamond mine in Angola. Al Jazeera reported that no one had accepted responsibility, and the cited sources do not describe effects on rivers or wildlife.
IMIP nickel waste landslides and Obi island (Indonesia)
Nickel-waste storage at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park collapsed in March 2025, killing three subcontract workers, and a further landslide killed one worker in February 2026. On Obi Island, residents of Kawasi village and an OCCRP-led investigation reported chromium-6 readings above Indonesia's drinking-water limit near a nickel smelter; the operator disputes the findings.
India fly ash utilisation and the Singrauli ash dam breach
India's official figures count about 96% of fly ash as utilised. In 2021–22, 13.14% of that was low-lying area filling, a term without a definition. In April 2020 an ash dam breached in Singrauli and six people died.
Vale Brumadinho dam collapse
A Vale tailings dam in Minas Gerais collapsed in January 2019 and 272 people died. Vale agreed a R$37.7 billion settlement in 2021; the homicide case against 16 people has no verdict.
Ramu and Lihir mines discharge millions of tonnes of tailings a year at sea
A 2018 Frontiers in Marine Science article reported that the Ramu mine discharges about 5 million tonnes of tailings a year into Basamuk Bay. The cited sources do not describe the ecological effects of the discharge.
Brazilian expert report confirms leak at Hydro Alunorte tailings deposit
An expert report reported by IHU Unisinos confirmed a leak from Hydro Alunorte's toxic tailings deposit in Pará in 2018. The cited sources say lead, aluminium and sodium levels in the water rose, and the company denied the overflow.
Talnakh Concentrator tailings facility: wastewater pumped onto the tundra, 2017–2020
Wastewater from the Talnakh Concentrator tailings facility near Norilsk was pumped onto the tundra in June 2020, after earlier discharges recorded from 2017. In July 2024 five people were charged under Article 246 of the Criminal Code; no court outcome is on record.
Daldykan River turns red near Norilsk, September 2016
The Daldykan River near Norilsk was reported red in September 2016. Nornickel attributed the colouring to a dike overflow after heavy rain at the Nadezhda plant's tailings system; the only payment on record is an administrative fine of RUB 30,000.
Samarco Fundão dam collapse (Mariana): the settlement and the court cases
The Fundão tailings dam of Samarco, owned equally by Vale and BHP, collapsed at Mariana, Brazil, on 5 November 2015 and 19 people died. A R$170 billion agreement was signed in October 2024, and the English High Court found BHP liable in November 2025.
Renova Foundation (Mariana dam, Brazil)
After the 2015 collapse of the Mariana tailings dam, a foundation funded by the mining companies ran the repair programmes for nine years. In October 2024 it was closed and replaced by a R$170 billion agreement, of which R$38 billion had already been spent.
Mount Polley tailings dam failure
A tailings dam at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia failed on 4 August 2014. In 2022 a court declared the limits of the operator's property insurance, and no criminal charges had been reported at the tenth anniversary.
Harita Nickel, Kawasi chromium-6 water and sago loss (Obi Island)
An April 2025 investigation reported chromium-6 in Kawasi village’s drinking-water source above Indonesia’s limit, next to Harita Group’s nickel operations on Obi Island. Harita disputes the findings; a 2026 report recorded a fall in sago palm area in the district.
Kolontár red mud spill (Hungary)
A red mud reservoir failed on 4 October 2010, killing 10 people. The operator's liability cover was HUF 10m (or HUF 20m by the chairman's early account), against damage reported at about HUF 35bn.
TVA Kingston coal ash spill insurance
After the December 2008 coal ash spill at Kingston, TVA said its insurers denied cover; arbitration awards followed. Which insurer paid which award is not fully confirmed.
Baia Mare cyanide spill
A tailings dam at a gold-recovery plant in Romania broke in January 2000. Cyanide reached the Danube through Hungary and Serbia; Hungary's damages claim ended without a defendant.
Aznalcóllar mine spill (Spain)
A 1998 accident at the Aznalcóllar / Los Frailes mine in Spain, operated by Boliden Apirsa, produced claims of about 40 billion pesetas. In 2023 a Seville court rejected the Andalusian government's €89.9 million claim against Boliden; in 2025 the government approved the last permit to reopen the mine.
Ok Tedi mine (Papua New Guinea)
A copper-gold mine in Papua New Guinea has released tailings into the Ok Tedi and Fly rivers since 1984. Villagers sued BHP in 1994; BHP left in 2001–2002 under a law that shielded it from future environmental claims, and the PNG parliament removed that protection in 2013.
Alteo has discharged red mud from Gardanne into the Calanques since 1966
Red mud from Alteo's Gardanne operation has been discharged into the Calanques canyon since 1966, according to Made in Marseille. The cited sources give no current measurement of the effect on the marine environment.
Five people to be prosecuted over Jagersfontein tailings dam failure
SAnews reported that five people will be prosecuted over the Jagersfontein tailings dam failure in South Africa, and that the company is paying for the cleanup. The cited sources do not describe the release or its environmental effects.
Science and environment
- Tailings and tailings dam
- Tailings are the waste left after ore is processed; a tailings dam is the embankment that stores them as wet sludge.