Our Approach to Tailings Management
Tailings management is an integral part of Ero’s approach to responsible mining. Across our operations, we work to design, construct, operate and maintain tailings management facilities in ways that prioritize safety and respect the surrounding environment. We further strive to reclaim and revegetate tailings facilities that are no longer needed for our operations to support the long-term safety and sustainability of our sites.
Ero’s approach to tailings management is guided by international best practices, and we seek to adhere to the relevant regulations of the regions in which we operate.
Caraíba Operations
At the Caraíba Operations, the Company utilizes multiple tailings management methods to store tailings generated from mineral processing activities.
Tailings generated at the Caraíba Operations are:
- Stored as slurried tailings in the site’s Tailings Dam, which is built using single lift embankments
- Mixed with cement and pumped back into the underground mine as paste backfill
- Stored in legacy open-pits as backfill
- De-watered and stored as filtered tailings using the sites dry-tailings paddocks system
The Caraíba dry-tailings paddocks system works by placing tailings and waste rock into cells reinforced with rock buttresses, which enable water to filter through the tailings. The resulting filtered tailings are then removed from paddocks cells and placed as dry-stack tailings in stacked pads. Water that filters through the co-disposed tailings and waste rock is captured and recycled for operational use.
Xavantina Operations
At the Xavantina Operations, non-inert waste from the Company's leaching process is stored in a high density polyethylene (HDPE) lined excavated pit.
Inert tailings are stored in cells within a single-lift rockfill ring-dyke dam. Tailings are passively dewatered within the facility and are then transported for storage in legacy excavations as backfill or within permitted long-term storage areas.
Tucumã Operation
The Tucumã Operation actively de-water tailings using filter presses prior to depositing tailings within permitted areas on site. Tailings are either compressed and stored as dry-stack, or co-mingled with waste rock.
For additional scientific and technical information regarding the Company’s tailings management practices, please refer to the Caraíba Operations Technical Report, the Xavantina Operations Technical Report and the Tucumã Project Technical Report, each of which is available for review on the Company’s website and under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca/landingpage/ and EDGAR at www.sec.gov.