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UQ Tailings Innovation Summit

Workshop 02 I Tailings Disaster Prevention through a Social Science Lens

17 November 2026

UQ Brisbane City

This full-day interactive workshop explores tailings disaster prevention through a social science lens, framing tailings management as both a technical and social challenge.

The workshop examines how vulnerability, institutional memory, and community participation shape disaster risk in tailings management.

Through a combination of presentations, group discussions, and practical exercises, participants will engage with interdisciplinary perspectives and reflect on how more integrated, inclusive, and prevention-oriented approaches can strengthen tailings management for more sustainable outcomes.

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Workshop outline

Welcome and Session 1 – Disasters as socially produced processes 

Disasters and vulnerability 

  • Distinction between a physical event and a disaster, based on contemporary disaster prevention scholarship 
  • Framing disasters as the result of the interaction between hazards (e.g. tailings facilities) and social and institutional vulnerabilities

Institutional memory and the risk of forgetting

  • Institutional memory as a central element in preventing cycles of repeated failure 
  • Reflection on how disasters often trigger intense but short-lived reforms when not supported by structured mechanisms for retaining learning 
  • The disaster in Brumadinho as a turning point for the creation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) and the Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI), including their objectives and intended transformations in governance and corporate responsibility 

Why communities matter in tailings management 

  • The role of participation and meaningful engagement in reducing vulnerability 
  • Connection to GISTM principles, positioning participation as a practice oriented toward disaster prevention and respect for human rights, rather than only communication or compliance 

 

Q&A 

Group exercise: Reducing vulnerability through social considerations 

Participants will work in small groups to: 

  • Identify key social vulnerabilities in a given tailings scenario 
  • Propose actions focused on engagement, governance, and capacity-building rather than engineering solutions 

Debrief and initial synthesis 

Each group shares key insights, including main learnings, challenges, and opportunities identified 

 

Break 

Icebreaker (Kahoot quiz) 

Session 2 – Meaningful engagement, ethics of care, and human rights

Content: 

  • Spectrum of engagement practices, from one-way communication to participatory and co-decision approaches 
  • Differences between engagement driven by communication, regulatory compliance, and reputation management, compared to approaches oriented toward risk prevention and human rights 
  • Introduction to the ethics of care (Tronto), shifting from “What do I need to do to comply with the law?” to “How can I respond responsibly to the needs of others?” 
  • Overview of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) 
  • The role of grievance mechanisms as foundational elements of a preventive, rather than reactive, approach for socially responsible mining 

Group discussion 

Engagement spectrum: 

  • Where do you see the sector currently positioned (information, consultation, partnership, or combinations)? 
  • What is required to move toward more meaningful participation? 

Ethics of care: 

  • What strategies can support more responsible responses to stakeholder needs beyond compliance? 
  • Grievance mechanisms and UNGPs: 
  • Strengths and limitations of current mechanisms 
  • Opportunities for improvement and stronger alignment with UNGP principles 

Each group will nominate a rapporteur to capture key discussion points. 

Plenary discussion 

  • Groups share key insights emerging from discussions 

 

Workshop close: 

  • Final reflections and key takeaways 

Facilitator

Angelica Andrade is a social science researcher at UQ's Sustainable Minerals Institute's Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM). She has contributed to global discussions and major UN and investor-supported initiatives following the tailings disaster in her hometown, Brumadinho, Brazil.

Angelica's work focuses on corporate social responsibility, tailings disaster prevention, and community participation in mining. She integrates concepts such as vulnerability, institutional memory, ethics of care, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into research and practice-oriented frameworks for the mining industry.