Mine Waste Management: Case Studies from Ghana and Canada

The report examines how Ghana and British Columbia manage mine waste, highlighting the importance of risk-based legal frameworks, corporate accountability, and financial assurances. It identifies strengths in both jurisdictions' planning processes while noting specific areas for improvement, such as Ghana's need for stronger polluter-pays principles and British Columbia's focus on enhancing regulatory auditing following the 2014 Mount Polley dam failure.

• Effective mine waste management requires a comprehensive legal framework consisting of clear standards, technical requirements for tailings facilities, corporate accountability, pre-approval review of waste plans, financial mechanisms for long-term risk, and sufficient resources for enforcement.
• The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) aims for 'zero harm' to people and the environment, emphasizing the long-term physical and chemical stability of facilities beyond the life of the mine.
• Ghana possesses comprehensive legal requirements for environmental assessments and waste standards, but lacks sufficient corporate accountability and transparency in monitoring. It is currently working to formalize artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) through the Multilateral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP) to reduce environmental damage, noting an average land conversion of -2,600 ha/year from ASM in southwest Ghana between 2005 and 2019.
• British Columbia's mine waste framework has been significantly evolved in response to the August 4, 2014, Mount Polley tailings dam failure. This incident led to the requirement of an Independent Tailings Review Board and an Engineer of Record for all facilities, and the prioritization of physical stability and the removal of water from tailings in the design phase.
• British Columbia has implemented a robust auditing process to ensure regulatory effectiveness, including the 2020 separation of compliance and enforcement from permitting divisions and the creation of the Mines Audit Unit to provide public recommendations for improvement.
• Both jurisdictions face challenges with financial securities for mine closure. In Ghana, legislation does not specify that security must cover all outstanding reclamation work, which can lead to abandoned mine legacies.

APA

Hill, J., & Gillman, M. (2021). Mine Waste Management: Case Studies from Ghana and Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-12/igf-case-study-mine-waste-management-canada-ghana.pdf

Chicago

Hill, Jenifer, and Matthew Gillman. Mine Waste Management: Case Studies from Ghana and Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-12/igf-case-study-mine-waste-management-canada-ghana.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hill |first1=Jenifer |last2=Gillman |first2=Matthew |title=Mine Waste Management: Case Studies from Ghana and Canada |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-12/igf-case-study-mine-waste-management-canada-ghana.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hill2021mine, author = {Hill, Jenifer and Gillman, Matthew}, title = {{Mine Waste Management: Case Studies from Ghana and Canada}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-12/igf-case-study-mine-waste-management-canada-ghana.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }