Governance
Board Oversight
Fortuna’s commitment to responsible tailings management follows the same integrated governance structure as our other sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
The Board of Directors (the Board) is responsible for the stewardship of the Company. Its responsibilities include overseeing the Company’s management and conduct, providing direction and guidance to management and overseeing the identification and management of business-related risks, which includes sustainability-related issues and tailings management.
The Sustainability Committee assists the Board in overseeing the Company’s obligations in the areas of health, safety, security, the environment, sustainable development and social responsibility, and related corporate objectives. The Sustainability Committee is composed of four members of the Board, a majority of whom are independent. The Committee’s core responsibilities include monitoring and assessing tailings management performance.
Management Accountability
Typically, Fortuna’s management team integrates sustainability into its governance by setting strategic goals, ensuring compliance, driving innovation, fostering stakeholder engagement and promoting responsible practices to ensure long-term success and positive impact.
For tailings management, specific governance mechanisms have been developed based on the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), which include an Accountable Executive (AE), an Independent Tailings Review Board (ITRB), a Corporate Responsible Tailings Facility Engineer (CRTFE), Engineers of Record (EoRs) and Responsible Tailings Facility Engineers (RTFEs) for each operating mine.
At the corporate level, the Senior Vice President of Sustainability, who reports directly to the CEO, is designated as the AE and is accountable for tailings facility safety. He ensures the reporting to the Board and the appointment of the ITRB.
An ITRB is composed of independent third-party subject matter experts not currently involved in the design or stewardship of the facility. It provides non-binding advice and guidance on all aspects of TSF lifecycle management, reinforcing a strong culture of safety and compliance. The ITRB reviews the design, construction, risk assessments, governance systems and other risk management matters that can affect the tailings facility safety, ensuring the required expertise and skill sets at every stage of the asset’s life.
The Corporate Director, Geotechnical, Tailings, and Water serves as the CRTFE and is responsible for the safety of the tailings facility and for environmental and social performance. He establishes corporate policies, standards and guidelines with respect to the TSF. The CRTFE is also responsible for conducting internal audits on TSF performance and for carrying out annual corporate reviews of tailings management to the AE and CEO.
An EoR is a senior level consultant from a reputable consulting firm, independent of Fortuna and its subsidiaries. The EoR is generally responsible for the design report, construction and performance reviews, deviance accountability report, dam breach assessment and annual dam safety inspections. Each site has a designated EoR.
In addition, at the operational level, country heads/general managers responsible for tailings management of their mine site appoint RTFEs and deputy RTFEs. They are responsible for developing and implementing a tailings and water management plan at their site, compiling TSF monthly monitoring data and summary reports for the EoR and CRTFE and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Standards and relevant guidelines for tailings management. They are also accountable for the integrity of the TSF.
Figure 1: Fortuna Tailings Governance Framework
Through this comprehensive governance framework, Fortuna has established multiple lines of defense to prevent TSF failures and ensure the safe and responsible management of tailings.
Figure 2: Fortuna’s Tailings Governance Mechanisms and Lines of Defence (LoD)
Policies
Our ESG Policies outline Fortuna’s commitments to tailings management and are guided by the following:
- Our Environmental Policy highlights our commitment to minimize risks and impacts associated with tailings;
- Our Health and Safety Policy includes considerations during the immediate response to a catastrophic facility failure; and
- Our Community Relations Policy outlines our priority to develop participative community-focused mechanisms for emergency preparedness and post-failure recovery.
Risk Management
Tailings management risks are a critical focus for Fortuna. They are integrated into our Enterprise Risk Management Program to ensure a consistent and proactive approach to managing the potential impacts of tailings storage facilities on the environment, communities and our operations. Regular reviews, independent audits, and ongoing TSF performance monitoring are conducted to proactively identify and address potential risks. These efforts include rigorous assessments of dam stability, environmental impacts, and social risks, such as those related to community health and safety.
Where needed, we implement ALARP based on a Qualitative Risk Assessment (QRA). The procedure for estimating ALARP levels based on QRA is as follows:
- Assess the current conditions (as is) using Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) framework;
- Perform a hazard and consequence assessment based on the FMEA results;
- Evaluate hazard-element relationships and related probabilities of occurrence (failure);
- Benchmark the probability of failure and evaluate multi-dimensional consequences;
- Plot results to evaluate risk tolerance versus ALARP;
- Determine level of mitigations by EoRs and owners;
- Evaluate residual effects to determine the minimum ALARP (mitigation versus CAPEX equilibrium); and
- Identify the mitigation measures that meet ALARP considerations and are also endorsed by the owners, ITRB and EoRs.
Metrics and Targets
We have established a zero-harm ambition for tailings management, which encompasses the prevention of all significant tailings’ incidents, seepage, downstream impacts and instabilities within our TSFs. Furthermore, we are committed to fully complying with all applicable GISTM requirements for every TSF we own and operate.
We are especially monitoring the following impact metrics:
- Number of tailings incidents recorded;
- Number of seepages observed or measured downstream from our TSFs;
- Number of movements or instabilities observed with our TSFs;
- Total weight of tailings produced and percentage recycled;
- Key TSF operational parameters such as operational status, consequence classification level and current TSF height versus permitted.
As part of our GISTM commitments, we also aim to:
- For future new TSF facilities: adopt GISTM and achieve compliance to applicable GISTM requirements during the first year of operation.
- For all existing TSF facilities owned and operated by Fortuna: continue to perform necessary studies to assess and fulfill GISTM applicable requirements, in order to:
- Ensure compliance by Fortuna with applicable GISTM TOPIC IV requirements on Management and Governance by the end of 2024;
- Ensure compliance of the applicable requirements of GISTM TOPIC III on Design, Construction, Operation and Monitoring for all company-owned TSFs by the end of 2025; and
- Ensure compliance of all other applicable requirements of the GISTM for all company-owned TSFs by the end of 2027.
For the most recent data and performance regarding our metrics and targets, please refer to: