Minimising the risks of tailings dams with remote sensing data

Tailings dams are used to store toxic mine waste and effluent. Their failure rate is estimated to be more than two orders of magnitude greater than that of conventional water retention dams, causing loss of lives, irreversible damages to ecosystems and large economic damages.
There is a need for a cost effective service to monitor operational, closed and abandoned tailings dams, especially those in remote locations, to help forecast potentially catastrophic failures.