Latest news with #TSFs
Agriland
23-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
DAFM seized 80t of illegal meat at ports and airports last year
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) seized a total of 80.48t of illegal meat at Dublin and Rosslare ports and at Shannon and Dublin airports in 2024. According to DAFM, the figure comprised 'seizures of commercial and personal consignments which includes products seized at temporary storage facilities and from passenger baggage'. Separately, latest figures suggest that in 2025 DAFM has also seized in the region of 79.21t of commercial consignment 'food products' at Dublin Port and Dublin Airport. According to latest figures, the department also identified and removed 6.02t of 'personal consignments' including products seized at Temporary Storage Facilities (TSFs) and in passenger baggage. Commercial food consignments are subject to documentary, identity, physical, sampling and, if necessary, laboratory inspections to confirm that they are in compliance with EU legislation. DAFM According to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, food consignments that do not comply with strict requirements 'are rejected and are either destroyed, re-exported to the country of origin or are subjected to special treatment under the control of DAFM, to mitigate the risk associated with non-compliance'. The Social Democrats TD, Aidan Farrelly, had asked the minister to specify the penalties that currently apply to individuals that fail to declare they are bringing in commercial amounts of food to Ireland. Minster Heydon said that if an individual fails to comply with Ireland's regulations 'they are liable on summary conviction, to a class a fine or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €500,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both'. 'For a small number of summary offences, a fixed payment notice of €250 may be served in lieu of prosecution,' he added. DAFM can also issue Import Control Notices which are enforceable by law.
Zawya
05-05-2025
- General
- Zawya
Illegal mining: A key risk to tailings dams management and mine closure
Artisanal mining often occurs close to an operating mine, even to access the same deposit. In many parts of Africa, illegal artisanal miners mine tailings storage facilities (TSFs) and rock dumps, which pose a significant risk to the management of tailings dams. SRK Consulting considers the risk that illegal artisanal miners pose in the management of tailings dams in many parts of Africa The same TSF risks that face nearby communities could then apply to these miners. James Lake, partner and principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting South Africa (SA), explains that TSFs, as part of a mine's lease area, are usually well protected by security infrastructure and services during the mine's operational years. However, the risks related to unauthorised access tend to escalate post-closure. 'In Tanzania, for instance, we have witnessed artisanal miners on a TSF, where the tailings were also being removed for use as construction material,' he says. In SRK's experience, mines often create 'attractive nuisances' after they close, such as pit gathering water that attracts wild animals. Similarly, a TSF still containing known minerals would attract illegal miners, who could put themselves at risk and perhaps endanger the structure. Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management This illegal mining is also a risk that needs attention in terms of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). Based on her work in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), SRK Consulting South Africa (SA) principal environmental engineer Roanne Sutcliffe explained some of the risks associated with managing TSFs after mine closure. 'In one site, it was clear that artisanal miners were walking over a tailings dam each day to reach discards which were still considered to have some mineral value,' says Sutcliffe. 'They would then wash the ore in the supernatant pond on the TSF; this sort of activity could have health and safety implications and could impact the stability of the TSF.' In another case, there was evidence of artisanal mining on a mineral seam which was not only adjacent to a TSF but which also ran under the TSF's foundation. Post-closure activity close to a tailings dam was itself a potential risk, while any mining underneath the structure would compromise its stability and pose life-threatening risks. 'The GISTM highlights that mitigating TSF risks is a responsibility that extends for tens or even hundreds of years after mines cease operations,' she says. 'This means finding sustainable solutions and post-closure uses that address the considerable risks posed by ongoing artisanal mining.'
Zawya
01-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Africa: GISTM holistic approach emphasises importance of mine closure planning
The importance of closure planning for mines and the need to build these considerations into the initial mine design phase are re-emphasised by the holistic approach of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). The holistic approach of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) re-emphasises the importance of closure planning for mines. Pictured: An open pit mine rehabilitated (Image supplied) This approach considers risks throughout the life cycle of a tailings storage facility (TSF), including the decades following closure and, in some cases, even longer where stability or environmental concerns persist. James Lake, partner and principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting South Africa (SA), says that closure is a theme that runs through the GISTM principles. 'The standard is explicit about the owners' responsibility to plan, build and operate TSFs to responsibly manage risk at all phases of the lifecycle – including closure and post-closure,' says Lake. 'This applies as much to the rights of project-affected people as it does to the maintenance of an interdisciplinary knowledge base and the operation of monitoring systems.' James Lake, partner and principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting South Africa (Image supplied) Robust designs Recent years have seen considerable activity in the mining sector to bring TSFs into compliance with the GISTM, and Lake notes that TSF designs are becoming more robust. Among the considerations is the likely impact of climate change, for instance, which will require tailings dams to remain stable in conditions of higher or more intense rainfall. According to Roanne Sutcliffe, principal environmental engineer at SRK Consulting SA, the GISTM reiterates the principle that effective closure planning begins when mines are being conceptualised and designed. 'The operational life of a mine and its TSF is typically measured in decades,' says Sutcliffe. 'In contrast, when considering the post-closure aspects of a tailings facility, the design life will need to be much longer in most instances and may need to be considered in terms of centuries.' In terms of the GISTM, mines need to be able to demonstrate that, from a chemical and physical stability perspective, TSFs will remain stable throughout the operational phase and for centuries to come after mine closure. She notes that an 'active closure' period typically follows for 10-20 years after a mine ceases operations, where the TSF requires a maintenance and monitoring team almost commensurate with the team required for operations. After that, a more 'passive closure' regime may be sufficient, where the teams involved slowly reduce but would last for many more decades if not centuries. Roanne Sutcliffe, principal environmental engineer at SRK Consulting SA (Image supplied) Planning too late The GISTM emphasises the risks TSF failures pose to human life and the environment as well as the need for early design adaptations. For instance, ensuring long-term stability may require gentler slope designs, which increases the TSF's footprint. Where space is constrained, this closure consideration could limit the deposition capacity of the TSF and the production capability of the mine, even impacting the operation's planned return on investment. In this sense, the focus on mine closure is strengthened by the mining industry's compliance with GISTM, says Ivan Doku, principal resource geologist, partner and country manager of SRK Consulting Ghana. 'Planning fully for mine closure has always been challenging, but the GISTM has given positive momentum to this imperative,' says Doku. 'In West Africa, there is certainly increased interest in closure planning, as mines look for ways to close the knowledge gap between current operational requirements and post-closure needs.' Ivan Doku, principal resource geologist, partner and country manager of SRK Consulting Ghana (Image supplied) Re-processing valuable tailings Given the long mining history of countries like Ghana, he points out that there could be interesting opportunities in post-closure land use as it relates to TSFs. With advancements in mineral processing technology, many old TSFs could be re-treated to extract additional value before the remaining tailings are used for other purposes such as backfilling. 'The ability to treat material without incurring mining costs is an attractive prospect, with the revenue helping to boost the financial provisioning for closure,' he says. 'Where older facilities may not have been designed in optimal areas, re-treating the tailings also presents the possibility of depositing it in a different location – one that better suits the available post-closure options and can further reduce the mine's financial provisioning for closure.' Among the main reasons why effective closure is often so difficult is that tailings are viewed as a waste product with little or no current value, and many operations begin closure planning too late, when cash flow is limited, according to Sutcliffe. 'This means that money has had to be spent when it is least available, and for purposes that generate no return,' she explains. 'However, if it can be shown to be economically feasible to re-process a TSF, this allows for both additional revenue generation and integration into the updated mine-wide closure thinking, rather than retrospective management of old facilities not designed with closure in mind.' Risk management and mitigation Sutcliffe highlights the economic benefits of planning TSFs with closure in mind, pointing out the high cost required to bring many older facilities in line with the current standard's closure requirements. 'Early in the design stage, it is important to understand and best mitigate the potential risks that the TSF will present after closure. "Today, we see many facilities approaching the decommissioning phase, where risk mitigation could require significant expenditure or extended timeframes, or even both. 'It is generally far more cost-efficient to invest in the solutions earlier – in design or even at the operational stage – so that post-closure risk can be minimised," she explains. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Geotheta Announces Geotechnical Engineering For Tailings Storage Facilities
Johannesburg-based engineering consultancy Geotheta has announced its specialized geotechnical engineering consultation and design services for tailings storage facilities. Bryanston, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - March 26, 2025) - With global waste management regulations becoming more stringent in response to mounting environmental concerns surrounding mining operations, Geotheta is offering its geotechnical engineering expertise to companies that want to ensure their projects comply with regional standards. The firm is currently accepting projects from Oceania, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand. For more information, please visit Geotheta Announces Geotechnical Engineering For Tailings Storage Facilities To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Geotheta can provide its clients with a range of tailings storage facility (TSF) services, including design, construction, and management. With extensive experience in the global engineering and mining industries, its team of professional engineers and scientists can design for mineral residue and all deposition methods, including cycloning, day-wall, paste, filtered, and dry-stacked - ensuring facilities remain stable and will not pollute the environment. The firm can also offer dam break modelling and assessments and GISTM gap analysis to help clients develop risk-reduction strategies and achieve fully auditable compliance. Furthermore, Geotheta is capable of Engineer of Record surveillance according to global industry standards and can monitor facilities throughout their lifetime. Its principal engineers, Ian Hammond and Mike Abbott, each have over 30 years of experience in TSF design, construction, commissioning, and closures; they have also participated on independent review boards for multinational mining companies, allowing them to offer third-party review services for operations as well. "We are tailings experts who assist you in managing your mine waste effectively and sustainably," says Abbott. "We achieve state-of-the-art facilities by applying our professional design and monitoring skills, and we have the knowledge and experience you need to keep your tailings facility compliant with required legislation." Additionally, Geotheta employs technical and administrative staff and specialist consultants on a project-by-project basis. As a result, they can provide return water dam design, light civil structural design, construction site supervision, and coastal engineering, among other services, depending on the project's requirements and the climate and geography of the region. Geotheta has been active in the global mining and geotechnical industry since its founding in 2015. The firm has completed over 107 design projects in the past two years; its most recent projects include an alternate Class C containment barrier for two TSFs in Free State and a trade-off study for a coal discard facility in Mpumalanga. Interested parties can learn more by visiting Contact Info:Name: Ian HammondEmail: ian@ GeothetaAddress: Ground Floor, Wrigley Field Building, The Campus, 57 Sloane, Bryanston, Gauteng 2191, South AfricaWebsite: To view the source version of this press release, please visit Sign in to access your portfolio
Globe and Mail
24-02-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Geotheta Announces Geotechnical Engineering Services For TSF Design & Management
Geotheta, an engineering consulting firm specializing in tailings storage facilities, has announced that it is accepting geotechnical engineering projects from mining operations worldwide. Bryanston, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - February 21, 2025) - Geotheta has announced that it is accepting geotechnical engineering consultations for tailings storage facilities (TSFs) from international clients, including mining operations in Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East, among other regions, following tightening regulations within the industry. For more information, please visit To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Its services encompass TSF design, construction, management, operation, and closure, which are tailored to each project to ensure operations remain compliant with regional standards for toxic substances, particulate matter, and liquid waste. Specializing in geotechnical engineering for TSFs, Geotheta's experienced team can act as designers, construction supervisors, and Engineers of Record for a variety of mining projects. Its staff comprises multiple professional engineers, including Ian Hammond, principal tailings and geotechnical engineer with over 40 years of experience in the design, construction, and closure of large mining-based TSFs and waste rock dump projects, and Mike Abbott, who has 35 years of experience in tailings storage facility design, construction, and closure. The company also employs numerous specialists in the field, ensuring they can offer a suite of services for structural and road design, water engineering, dam break modeling and assessments, and more. "Geotheta employs both technical and administrative staff, making use of specialist consultants on a project-by-project basis," says Hammond. "We have the knowledge and experience you need to keep your tailings facility compliant with required legislation and standards according to best practice techniques." Additionally, Geotheta's principal engineers have participated in independent review boards for multinational mining companies and have extensive experience in Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) compliance. As such, they will be able to provide expert consultations on TSF enhancements and design for mineral residue and all deposition methods, including slurry, paste, filtered, and dry-stacked deposition, based on the site's climate, geology, and resources. Geotheta is also capable of performing in-depth geotechnical investigations and GISTM gap analysis to minimize risk and impact on the surrounding environment as much as possible. Founded in 2015, Geotheta has since expanded to six geographic regions and currently acts as Engineer of Record for numerous facilities. The firm has completed 107 design projects in the last two years alone, and it is highly acclaimed for its adherence to deadlines and expertise. Interested parties can learn more by visiting
