Amira is currently working with the Amira Tailings Collaboration, who together are accountable for 35% of the world’s planned tailings for 2025, to shape collaborative and individual priorities for further assessment of emerging R&D+I2 submissions (see here for submissions portal).
The intensive workshops with these operator members across three core challenge themes:
- Avoiding catastrophic failure
- Step change in volume through repurposing
- Step change in volume through the tailing creation processes across the mine value chain
Amira’s focus is on the key breakthroughs required to unlock and deliver the step changes. This means respecting and aligning with the good work already in progress around the world. To this, Amira and ICMM meet quarterly to ensure alignment of works in progress to the benefit of our industry and the communities within which our members operate.
The Amira Tailings Collaboration provides deep industry knowledge and leadership to drill down into the three core themes to better articulate the breakthrough expectations required to invoke the step changes the group is expecting. This leadership group is also collaborating to identify their corporate and collaborative priorities, including exploring industry wide efforts necessary to enable significant reduction in tailings volumes. It is a privilege to witness the degree of frank collaboration (within the bounds of anti-trust policies) and the alignment as well as the variability in considerations, approaches, and priorities.
One of the emerging considerations is the degree of interdisciplinary collaboration required to address some of the challenges. In addition, the leadership group is noting the importance of developing transdisciplinary expertise to ensure deployment and delivery to translate these integrated approaches creating the R&D+I2 outcomes back into industry.
The collaboration is operating under a multiparty NDA available to Amira’s Operator Members. This group is driving the development of the Amira tailings R&D+I2 breakthrough roadmap with a direct and deliberate intention of creating step change in their tailings volumes within the medium to long term. If your organisation is interested in being part of this Tailings leadership group, please contact Sara Sulway, GM Member Engagement.
The Amira tailings R&D+I2 breakthrough roadmap cuts across technologies readiness levels. Amira’s supplier members are encouraged to submit their technological breakthrough ideas here for showcasing to Amira’s members at the April R&D Forum.