TAILINGS MANAGEMENT

Iluka is committed to managing its tailings storage facilities in a safe and responsible manner.   

Tailings are the sand, silt, and clay particles that remain after the extraction of heavy minerals. Most of Iluka’s tailings are returned to mine voids for in-pit disposal, with a significantly lesser proportion temporarily or permanently contained above-ground in engineered tailings storage facilities. Of these above-ground facilities, the majority do not feature any embankment raises, some have downstream raises, and only one facility within our portfolio features an upstream raise.  

Iluka applies a risk-based approach to minimise or mitigate the potential impacts of our tailings storage facilities on our workforce, local communities and the environment. Our tailings management practices are regularly reviewed and independently audited to ensure applicable standards are met and improvement actions completed.  

Guided by Iluka’s Group Tailings Management Standard, our management system is aligned with the industry-recognised guidelines of the Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD, 2019). We also refer to the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management to inform our management practices.   

We employ tailings dam specialists to provide technical leadership and guidance on the management of tailings storage facilities across Iluka's operations. We use external, independent geotechnical specialists to support the assessment of the company’s compliance with guidelines and inform improvements in their management.  

Iluka prioritises consultation with landholders adjacent to the company’s mining operations and transparently discloses tailings storage facility information to all external stakeholders via the Global Tailings Portal.   

A register of Iluka’s tailing storage facilities can be found in our Sustainability Data Book.