The independently held Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) has, for the first time since its establishment, appointed a chief executive officer and has also created a technical committee as it advances its mission to improving the safety of mine tailings facilities worldwide.
Engineering and sustainability leader Ed Toms, a 40-year leadership veteran, will spearhead the GTMI’s five-year strategy to scale the organisation and create sustainable change across mine tailings facilities globally. Toms, who has worked with high-consequence infrastructure programmes to strengthen resilience and sustainability across the energy, water, and mining sectors, is the founder of Journey Engineering and is a senior executive with decades of experience in mining, dams, and critical infrastructure.
He serves on the board of the United States Society on Dams (USSD) and contributes to various committees focused on DEI, climate resilience, workforce development, and inclusive stakeholder engagement.
“The establishment of this Institute serves as a critical turning point for responsible tailings management. The GTMI will help ensure that the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) is widely implemented across facilities globally and supported by a robust assurance framework,” Toms said.
“As the inaugural CEO, I’m looking forward to ramping up the Institute’s core activities, helping to appoint qualified auditors, and welcoming signatories and supporters.
GTMI Technical Committee
Another significant development is the formation of the first GTMI Technical Committee, which will oversee all technical matters related to the audit and certification process, including accreditation and training programmes. The committee includes board members and other technical experts, and is supported by acting CTO and board member Janis Shandro.
The committee will oversee the development of conformance audit protocols, provide guidance on the interpretation of any aspect of the GISTM, periodically advise the board on whether the Standard remains fit for purpose, and act in an advisory capacity on any other technical issues.
The GTMI welcomes the following experts to its technical committee:
- Vicente Mello – GTMI Deputy Chair and Senior Vice President at AECOM
- Janis Shandro – GTMI Acting Chief Technical Officer, Board Member, and Owner/Managing Director at Arrowsmith Gold
- Jeronimo Covacevich – GTMI Technical Committee Chair, Board Member, and Tailings Subject Matter Expert at ICMM
- David Cooling – Private Consultant and Geotechnical/Tailings Engineer
- Theo Gerritsen – Principal Tailings Engineer at BGC Engineering
- Naomi Hodgkinson-Lee – Senior Risk Engineer at Zurich Resilience Solutions
- Kristin Pouw – Principal of Water and Waste at Newmont Corporation
Next steps: Signatories and Supporters
Once an assurance framework and a database of independent third-party auditors have been established, the GTMI will invite mining companies and government-owned enterprises with operational responsibility for tailings facilities, to become signatories. Signatories will commit to implementing and conforming with the GISTM, undergoing independent auditing and certification, continuously improving their tailings management practices, and publicly disclosing information about their facilities and auditing outcomes.
Interested stakeholders without operational responsibility for tailings facilities will be invited to become supporters – to share expertise, host or attend roundtables, and participate in other collaborative efforts to improve tailings management.
Source: thegtmi.org