Rio Tinto Iron Ore | RAMP

Rio Tinto Iron Ore

Rio Tinto Iron Ore completes Portfolio Risk Assessment and GISTM Compliance Assessment utilising RAMP

Published 10 April 2020, 7:00am | RAMP Team

PRA

Rio Tinto, along with the other members of the International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM), have committed to achieving compliance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), which was released in 2020 by the independent Global Tailings Review following the Brumadinho tailings disaster.

Risk assessment and management is a fundamental requirement of the GISTM, including risk profile establishment and implementation of risk-informed decision making for the management and potential upgrades of existing TSFs.

In 2021, Rio Tinto Iron Ore (RTIO) engaged HATS to complete a portfolio risk assessment (PRA) for their tailings and water storage facilities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia as part RTIO’s progress towards GISTM compliance.

The risk assessment was completed using HATS’ Risk Assessment and Management Platform (RAMP). Risk profiles were developed for 26 embankments across 15 facilities and eight operations between October and December 2021.

The results of the PRA further informed RTIO’s already well-established understanding of their facility risks and allowed direct comparison across the portfolio. The identified potential areas for improvement were directly linked to the effectiveness of critical controls, following the Critical Control Management (CCM) philosophy of ICMM. The outcomes of the PRA informed the prioritisation of risk-reduction measures and supported RTIO’s implementation of risk-informed decision making.

HATS’ use of RAMP allowed us to establish a quantitative portfolio risk profile in just a few months using existing data and information that we had close at hand. The process was efficient and effective and provided us with valuable information to support our risk-informed decision making and active risk management of our water and storage facilities in WA.

Jarrad Coffey

Principal Engineer Tailings & Dams, RTIO

GISTM compliance

HATS was engaged by Rio Tinto Iron Ore (RTIO) to undertake an assessment of compliance with the requirements of GISTM, as an extension of a recently completed portfolio risk assessment (PRA) for their tailings and water storage facilities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The assessment was completed in February 2022 using the Compliance Application within HATS’ Risk Assessment and Management Platform (RAMP). The assessment was completed efficiently by utilising many of the inputs already established during the PRA, enabled by RAMP’s integral link between risk profile and industry compliance.

The link between facility risk and GISTM compliance presented by RAMP allowed RTIO to efficiently identify actions which both minimised the risk posed by a facility while improving compliance with GISTM.

HATS’ use of RAMP allowed us to establish the current status of GISTM compliance with a direct link to the portfolio risk profile of our facilities. The compliance assessment was completed efficiently off the back of a portfolio risk assessment and allowed us to understand and prioritise actions to both minimise risk and improve compliance

Jarrad Coffey

Principal Engineer Tailings & Dams, RTIO