Mining companies should be required to buy private insurance for tailings dams and their board of directors should be held legally responsible for any disasters, a coalition of 140 environmental groups said in a report published on Tuesday.
The recommendations, which differ from standards to be published soon from a group that includes miners and investors, come as public scrutiny over tailings dams has intensified after the deadly 2019 collapse of a Brazil dam owned by Vale.
Earthworks and MiningWatch Canada, two prominent environmental nonprofits, co-wrote the report that includes 16 recommendations they hope will be adopted by regulators across the world and used by bankers as they consider whether to lend to miners.