Towards safer tailings storage facilities: a review of risk assessment strategies

The effective management of tailings storage facilities (TSFs) is crucial for managing the environmental risks due to variables, such as erosion, leakage, structural failures, and potential collapse, as well as risks to the environment and mining operations. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of current TSF monitoring strategies, focusing on traditional methods like on-site inspections, alongside advanced technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT) networks, satellite remote sensing (SRS), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)-based remote sensing. IoT networks facilitate continuous data collection, SRS enables large-scale surface monitoring, and UAVs offer high-resolution imaging of inaccessible areas. Each monitoring technique is evaluated for its effectiveness in assessing TSF failure, highlighting its strengths and limitations in ensuring TSF stability and guiding future improvements. The review also explores the broader implications of these evaluations, emphasising the need for advancements in data integration, intelligent risk detection, and visualisation methods to address the increasing complexity and regulatory demands in the mining sector.