Global Tailings Management Institute Appoints Inaugural Board of Directors
Johannesburg, South Africa - The Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI), an independent organisation dedicated to improving the safety of mine tailings facilities worldwide, has announced the appointment of its multi-stakeholder board of directors. The board will be chaired by Mark Cutifani, former CEO of Anglo American. The deputy chair is Vicente Mello, Senior Vice President at global infrastructure, technical, environmental and social consultancy, AECOM. Both leaders bring decades of mining experience, with a strong focus on responsible tailings management.
The board’s role will be to oversee the widespread implementation of, and conformance with, the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), driving safety, continuous improvement, accountability, and transparency in tailings management.
It’s an honour to Chair the inaugural GTMI Board. The Institute is a key part of the global infrastructure to ensure we can achieve zero harm to people and the environment from tailings waste. It is a unique collaboration, focused on aligning standards and supporting each other to create a safer and more socially sensitive mining industry. Taking past lessons and developing new and innovative approaches is at the core of how we come together to continuously improve our approach to mine waste and tailings solutions.
Ensuring diverse representation in governance
After the Institute was established in January 2025, more than 150 individuals from multiple stakeholder groups, including from the mining industry, technical and academic communities, potentially affected communities, Indigenous Peoples, the mining workforce, environmental experts, regulators, and the finance sector, responded to the call to join the board. This was followed by an extensive process of review and selection facilitated by the GTMI’s co-founders, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
Multi-stakeholder participation is critical to build credibility and trust in the work of the Institute. Drawing from the breadth of expertise of leading figures from the workforce, industry, potentially affected communities and regulators amongst others, will ensure that a diversity of perspectives will inform the critical decisions the Institute will make.
The GTMI welcomes the following individuals to its board of directors, reflecting a diverse mix of gender, geography and stakeholder interests:
- Chair: Mark Cutifani, Former CEO of Anglo American (Australia)
- Deputy Chair: Vicente Mello, Senior Vice President at AECOM (Brazil)
Other board members:
- Janis Shandro, Owner/Managing Director of Arrowsmith Gold Inc. (Canada)
- Mutuso Dhliwayo, Executive Director, Zimbabwe Environmental Law Organisation (Zimbabwe)
- Jacqui Hex, Environmental Scientist, Jones & Wagener (South Africa)
- Andressa Lanchotti, Public Prosecutor (Brazil)
- Edson Krenak, Indigenous scholar and advocate (Brazil)
- John Howchin, Special Advisor, The Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030 (Sweden)
- Jeronimo Covacevich, Professional Civil Engineer at BHP (Chile)
View their profiles: https://thegtmi.org/board-members/
The Brazilian representation on the board is significant and reflects that the Institute was born out of the Global Tailings Review, which was formed directly after the tragic Brumadinho dam collapse in 2019. Having the important insights of key individuals that were prominent in responding to the disaster, will strengthen the work of the Institute and its essential role in driving implementation of and conformance with the GISTM. Brazil learned hard lessons that should be shared globally.
Next steps for the Institute
With the board now established, the Institute will focus on developing its core programmatic activities. This includes establishing a technical committee, developing the assurance framework for independent auditing of tailings facilities, and creating training and accreditation programs to build capacity for evaluating and certifying facilities against the GISTM.
To learn more about the GTMI and the newly appointed Board of Directors visit: www.thegtmi.org.
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About the Global Tailings Management Institute
The Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) is an independent, multi-stakeholder governed organisation, established to promote widespread adoption and implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). The GISTM requires mining operators to take responsibility and prioritise the safety of tailings facilities, and the GTMI is responsible for managing the assurance framework through which tailings facilities will be audited and certified against this Standard, by qualified, independent third party assessors.
The GTMI is cofounded by ICMM, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The first priority of the GTMI is to manage an assurance framework for GISTM, supported by efforts to drive awareness, share knowledge, and disclose auditing outcomes. Its goal is to achieve zero harm to people and the environment, with zero tolerance for human fatality.