Mine Tailings Dam Construction & Operation SWMS
Tailings dam wall construction, deposition management, decant systems, embankment monitoring. Post-Brumadinho global standard; ANCOLD guidelines; Independent Engineer of Record review.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Mining tailings dam work covers the construction, raising, operation, monitoring and closure of a tailings storage facility — the engineered impoundment that stores the fine, often saturated waste, the tailings, left after ore processing. A tailings storage facility is one of the highest-consequence structures on any mine: a dam failure can release a fast-moving flow of saturated tailings that can travel far downstream, with the potential for multiple fatalities, destruction of downstream communities and infrastructure, and catastrophic environmental harm. The hazards include structural failure of the embankment, overtopping, internal erosion and piping, liquefaction of the stored tailings, and the operational hazards of working on and around the facility. This document is written on the basis that the tailings storage facility is designed, constructed, operated and monitored to a recognised tailings-management standard by competent engineers, with the stability of the structure managed against defined performance criteria.
Tailings dam work is governed by the dual mining regime and tailings-management requirements: under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations the construction and earthworks engage high risk construction work where excavation, mobile plant or work near water with a drowning risk apply, requiring a safe work method statement; under the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations the stability of a tailings storage facility is a principal mining hazard requiring a principal mining hazard management plan, and tailings facilities are subject to specific governance and an engineer of record. This document coordinates the structural-stability, water-management, monitoring and operational controls so the facility stores the tailings without a failure.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
A fast-moving flow of saturated tailings downstream, with potential for multiple fatalities and catastrophic harm
Erosion and breach of the embankment from water flowing over the crest
Progressive internal failure leading to a breach
Loss of strength and flow of the tailings, triggering or worsening a failure
Rising water and reduced stability of the facility
Plant rollover, edge overrun and crush injury during construction and raising
Drowning where workers fall into the pond or saturated tailings
Failure developing undetected without instrumentation and inspection
Chemical exposure and respirable dust including any crystalline silica
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Engineering: design, construct, raise and close the tailings storage facility to a recognised tailings-management standard by competent geotechnical engineers, with an engineer of record and defined stability and performance criteria.
- 2Engineering: manage the water balance and freeboard — controlling the supernatant pond, decant and spillway capacity — to prevent overtopping, and design filters and zoning to prevent internal erosion and piping.
- 3Engineering: assess and control liquefaction risk under static and seismic loading in the design and the deposition strategy, and monitor the stored tailings and pore pressures.
- 4Engineering: an instrumentation and monitoring system — piezometers, survey monuments, inspections and trigger-action response plans — so deterioration is detected and acted on before a failure.
- 5Administrative: prepare a principal mining hazard management plan for the tailings storage facility, with the tailings governance, the engineer of record, surveillance and review, and a SWMS for the high risk construction work during construction and raising.
- 6Administrative: edge protection, drowning controls and plant-and-pedestrian controls around the embankment, pond and decant structures, and energy isolation for work on outlet and decant infrastructure.
- 7Administrative: manage hazardous tailings chemistry and dust — including any crystalline silica from exposed beaches against the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m3 (eight-hour time-weighted average), reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026, with exceedances reported to the regulator — and consult and train workers in the facility's hazards and controls.
- 8Administrative: all workers must hold a valid White Card (General Construction Induction Training, CPCCWHS1001) where construction work applies, and the mining inductions, statutory tickets and competencies required for the mine before entering the operation.
- 9Administrative: conduct a pre-shift toolbox talk covering the day's work, the principal mining hazards and their controls, atmospheric and ground conditions, plant movements, required PPE and emergency procedures, and record attendance in the consultation section.
- 10Administrative: consult workers and health and safety representatives on the work and its risks, record the consultation, and keep this document and the relevant plans available at the operation.
- 11PPE: underground or site high-visibility clothing, head protection, eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1, hearing protection matched to the measured noise, gloves, and Class I or Class II safety footwear with protective toecap to AS/NZS 2210.3.
- 12Administrative: review and update this SWMS and the relevant principal mining hazard management plan whenever the work, the ground or atmospheric conditions, the plant or the controls change, after any incident or near miss, when a worker or health and safety representative raises a concern, or at minimum every 12 months.
Applicable Codes of Practice
The mining-specific regulations requiring identification of principal mining hazards and a principal mining hazard management plan for each, within the mine safety management system.
The risk management process and hierarchy of controls applied to the principal mining hazards of the work.
The risk assessment, silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring duties where the work generates respirable crystalline silica.
Controls and the exposure standard for the high noise levels generated by mining and processing plant.
Selection, fit testing, use and maintenance of the respiratory protection required for the dust, diesel particulate, silica and atmospheric hazards of the work.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Construction and raising of the tailings embankment involves excavation and earthworks exceeding 1.5 metres, so the work is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS before the work commences.
Earthmoving plant operates during construction, raising and operation of the facility, bringing the work within this category and driving the plant-and-pedestrian separation controls.
The tailings pond and decant structures present a drowning risk, bringing work near them within this category and driving the drowning controls.
This work is governed by the dual mining regime. Under the model WHS Regulations it is high risk construction work — engaging the categories above — so a SWMS must be prepared before the work commences, kept readily accessible, reviewed as necessary, and given to the principal contractor if one is appointed. Under the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations the mine operator must identify the principal mining hazards relating to the stability and integrity of the tailings storage facility and prepare a principal mining hazard management plan for each, within the mine safety management system. Where the work generates respirable crystalline silica, the silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring duties apply, with the exposure standard reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026. Mining incidents in this category can be catastrophic, and breaches of the primary duty of care under the model WHS Act and the mines legislation are actively enforced, with offence categories running from failure-to-comply through to reckless conduct, and the most serious breaches carrying imprisonment for individuals. Body-corporate maxima are substantial and indexed; the current maximum follows the prevailing schedule of the responsible regulator.
Who this is for
- →Tailings storage facility construction and operations crews.
- →Earthmoving operators constructing and raising the embankment.
- →Tailings, geotechnical and water-management engineers and the engineer of record.
- →Tailings surveillance and monitoring personnel.
- →Mine managers and supervisors overseeing the tailings principal mining hazard management plan and the SWMS.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word document (.docx) fully compatible with Microsoft Word 2016 and newer, Google Docs, and LibreOffice Writer.
- ✓Title page with editable fields for the mine operator and PCBU name, ABN, site address, project name, principal contractor details, and document revision date.
- ✓Hazard register with the mining tailings dam hazards — each with a documented consequence, inherent risk rating on a 5x5 likelihood-consequence matrix, hierarchy-of-control measures, and residual risk rating.
- ✓Structural-stability and engineer-of-record prompts, a water-balance and freeboard management section, an instrumentation and trigger-action-response monitoring section, and earthworks and drowning control fields.
- ✓Principal mining hazard management plan reference prompts and, where relevant, a silica risk control plan aligned to the model crystalline silica Code of Practice referencing the 0.05 mg/m3 exposure standard.
- ✓Competency, statutory-ticket and induction verification fields, and a respiratory protection selection and fit-test record per AS/NZS 1715.
- ✓Worker consultation record and a worker sign-on register (blank, expandable).
- ✓Applicable legislation and Codes of Practice schedule pre-populated for the model WHS and mines jurisdiction with a state-variance reference table covering the harmonised states, plus Victoria.
- ✓Emergency procedure template and a revision log.
Worked example
A mine is constructing, raising and operating a tailings storage facility to store the saturated waste from ore processing. Because the construction involves earthworks exceeding 1.5 metres, mobile plant, and work near a pond with a drowning risk, a SWMS is prepared, and a principal mining hazard management plan for the tailings storage facility is in place, with tailings governance and an engineer of record. The facility is designed, constructed and raised to a recognised tailings-management standard by competent geotechnical engineers, with defined stability and performance criteria. The water balance and freeboard are managed — controlling the supernatant pond, decant and spillway capacity — to prevent overtopping, and filters and zoning are designed to prevent internal erosion and piping. Liquefaction risk under static and seismic loading is assessed and controlled in the design and deposition strategy. An instrumentation and monitoring system of piezometers, survey monuments and inspections, with trigger-action response plans, detects deterioration before a failure. Edge protection, drowning controls and plant-and-pedestrian controls surround the embankment and pond. Hazardous tailings chemistry and any silica dust from exposed beaches are managed. The plan, SWMS, design and monitoring records are retained.
Related legislation
- Model Work Health and Safety Act — primary duty of care; the duty to consult workers; the reckless-conduct offence; and notifiable-incident provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Model Work Health and Safety Regulations — Section 291 high risk construction work and the SWMS preparation and review duties, and where relevant the crystalline silica high-risk processing, silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation / Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations — identification of principal mining hazards, principal mining hazard management plans, the mine safety management system and, for underground mines, ventilation control plans, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Exposure standards: respirable crystalline silica 0.05 mg/m3 (eight-hour TWA), reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026; respirable dust and, in coal, the lower coal-mine dust standard; and diesel particulate matter, currently 0.1 mg/m3 (sub-micron elemental carbon) with a Workplace Exposure Limit of 0.01 mg/m3 (respirable elemental carbon) from 1 December 2026.
- Victoria, and other jurisdictions, operate their own mining safety and work health and safety legislation; in Victoria the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Regulations 2017 and the relevant mining instruments apply in place of the model instruments.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a tailings storage facility such a high-consequence structure?
A tailings storage facility stores fine, often saturated processing waste behind an engineered embankment, and a dam failure can release a fast-moving flow of saturated tailings that travels far downstream, with the potential for multiple fatalities, destruction of downstream communities and infrastructure, and catastrophic environmental harm. Its stability is a principal mining hazard requiring its own management plan and specific governance.
What are the main failure modes of a tailings dam?
Structural failure of the embankment, overtopping from excess water or inadequate freeboard, internal erosion and piping through the embankment or foundation, and liquefaction of the stored tailings under static or seismic loading. These are controlled through engineered design to a recognised tailings-management standard, water-balance and freeboard management, filter and zoning design, and liquefaction assessment.
How is deterioration of a tailings dam detected?
Through an instrumentation and monitoring system — piezometers measuring pore pressure, survey monuments measuring movement, and regular inspections — with trigger-action response plans so that any deterioration is detected and acted on before it develops into a failure. Monitoring is critical because a failure can develop internally and would otherwise be detected too late.
Who is responsible for the engineering of a tailings facility?
A tailings storage facility is designed, constructed, raised and closed to a recognised tailings-management standard by competent geotechnical engineers, with an engineer of record providing ongoing engineering oversight, within the tailings governance framework and the principal mining hazard management plan. The engineering oversight is continuous across the life of the facility, not a one-off design.
What construction hazards apply to tailings work?
The construction and raising involve earthworks exceeding 1.5 metres and earthmoving plant, so the work is high risk construction work as excavation with movement of powered mobile plant, and the pond and decant structures present a drowning risk. A SWMS addresses these construction hazards alongside the structural-stability controls in the tailings principal mining hazard management plan.