A critical review of interacting technical operational and governance weaknesses in tailings storage facility failures

TSF failures have resulted in loss of lives, destruction of property, financial losses, and reputational damage to the mining companies. While a number of studies have documented TSF failures, most reviews have been descriptive and lack robust connections between reported failures and broader design, operational, and governance strengths and weaknesses. The published evidence on the root causes of TSF failures is reviewed, and the failure mechanisms discussed are understood as a set of interacting processes rather than single events. The literature was identified by searching major scientific databases with keywords related to TSF failure. The final results of compiling this data indicate that none of the construction techniques is immune to failure. The highest percentage of reported failures related to the upstream facilities (52.87%), followed by the downstream (8.05%), water-retention (6.90), and centerline (3.45) facilities. The most common reported causes were earthquake or seismic instability (18.39%) and overtopping and slope instability (14.94%), foundation failure or subsidence (9.20%), seepage/internal erosion (6.90%), structural failure (6.90%), erosion (3.45%) and mine subsidence (1.15%). This is because the 2000–2020 period had the highest reported tailing releases, at approximately 99.29 Mm 3 . There was no direct relationship between dam height and the amount of water released. Facilities within 0–20 m accounted for 47.3% of failed dams with known height, but this should not be interpreted as a global failure rate, as the total number of existing TSFs by height class is unknown. Overall, TSF failures commonly reflect interacting geotechnical, hydrological, operational, and management weaknesses, requiring rigorous risk-based regulation of both small and large dams.