Polymetal reassures shareholders over safety of tailings storage facilities
Polymetal International
215.00p
16:35 31/07/23
Polymetal issued “full disclosure” on its tailings storage facilities management to the market on Monday, in response to a request from the Church of England Pensions Board and the Swedish Council on Ethics for the AP Funds.
FTSE 250
20,509.71
16:29 08/11/24
FTSE 350
4,454.91
16:30 08/11/24
FTSE All-Share
4,413.44
16:39 08/11/24
Mining
11,617.47
16:29 08/11/24
The FTSE 250 company said it currently operated nine tailings storage facilities at seven operating mine sites in Russia and Kazakhstan, and two dry stack facilities.
To date, there had been no environmental accidents involving tailings facilities at its operations.
It said all of the tailings storage facilities underwent regular audits for compliance with environmental legislation requirements, as well as safety examinations to prevent accidents and eliminate causes of dam failure.
“Tailing storage facilities are regularly monitored by our on-site environmental and engineering teams,” the board said in its statement.
“Pipelines, pump stations, water levels and dams are inspected on a daily basis.
“Polymetal ensures emergency preparedness and response procedures at all stages of tailings storage facilities lifespan.”
In 2018, the company said it improved control and increased the rigour of assessment and management of tailings storage facilities, including emergency response plans.
“The company is increasingly shifting towards safer methods of waste storage, particularly dry stack - filtered cake - tailings.
“This technology significantly reduces the probability of dam failure, minimises potential damages in case of an accident, and eliminates tailings run-off,” the board explained.
“Polymetal plans to use dry stacking at all new projects where it is possible.”
The company confirmed that, for the two projects currently under construction - Nezhda and POX-2 - tailings would be dry stacked.