International Commission
on Large Dams
Technical Committee L, Tailings Dams
50th Anniversary of Technical Committee L, Tailings Dams
ICOLD2026 Guadalajara, Mexico celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Technical Committee L, Tailings Dams and Waste Lagoons. The Tailings Dams Committee first met at ICOLD 1976 in XXXXX. How many people attended first meeting. Currently, the technical committee has active members representing 30 national committees of ICOLD. Tailings dams and waste lagoons are crucial in Mexico to safely manage large volumes of mining byproducts, preventing toxic materials from polluting water sources and land. Given Mexico's significant role in mining, these structures are essential for environmental protection, public health, and regulatory compliance, helping to mitigate the environmental impact of operations and store waste in a controlled manner. ICOLD 2026 features many activities sponsored by the Tailings Dams Technical committee, including a 2-day Short Course on Tailings Dams held immediately before the start of the Annual Meeting and Conference.
About the workshops...
The Committee L workshops on Saturday May 23, 2026 are set to present the work conducted on new and updated technical bulletins and open for input from members, other committees and registrants (as observers). In Mexico 2026, we will discuss:
• The update on Bulletin 194 on Tailings Dam Safety
• The update on Bulletin 121 on Tailings Dam Failures.
• The collaborative work between committees L (tailings), Q (dam surveillance) and E (embankment dams) on the new Bulletin on surveillance.
Do not miss the opportunity to participate and provide input.
On sunday May 24, 2026, Technical Committee L on Tailings Dams and Waste Lagoons will hold a full day committee meeting comprising the following amongst other things:
• The 50th year anniversary of TC L as the committee was created in ICOLD Mexico 1976.
• Country updates of all committee members.
• Work to be done.
We encourage you to participate actively in all ICOLD´s 2026 TC L activities.
Presentation of progress on the Tailings Management Professional (TMP) initiative that is developing the knowledge areas and skills for the TMP.
The Internation Symposium kicks off on Monday May 25, 2026, and feature a full technical track over three days on Tailings Dam Safety. The symposium sessions will be organized to allocate presenting papers related to tailings dam safety, for:
• Advances in monitoring technologies for tailings facilities
• Risk-based design approaches and consequence classification
• Seepage control and dam stability analysis
• Emergency preparedness for downstream communities
• Regulatory compliance with international standards (e.g., GISTM)
• Case studies of failures and lessons learned
• Sustainable alternatives to tailings storage (e.g., filtered tailings)
• Closure planning and post-closure risk mitigation
• Seismic resilience and liquefaction risk
• Stakeholder engagement and transparency in mining regions
On Thursday May 28, 2026, a Full-Day workshop is offered on Tailings Governance & Management (B 194) including a Panel Discussion featuring International and Mexican Engineering Perspectives. Presentations and discussion cover tailings management, operations management experiences in Mexico and international, including governance, regulations, and standards. The panel discussion will focus on Good Practice ICMM (GISTM), ICOLD, CDA, and ANCOLD, Governance and management, and challenges for Mexico and the world. The panel will have experienced Mexican representatives from the mining industry and ICOLD´s international representatives.
Finally, on Friday May 29, 2026, another Full-Day Workshop is offered on Risk-Informed Design, Risk-Informed Decision Making and Dam Safety - Link to TC-H Bulletin on risk-informed decision making. Risk informed decision making (RIDM) and risk informed design (RID) are related but distinct concepts. RIDM is a process that uses risk insights to inform broader decisions, while RID is a design approach that integrates risk considerations into the design process. In essence, RIDM is an approach for making informed decisions, while RID is a specific design methodology that leverages risk information.
The workshop will be divided into the four questions listed below with 2-3 speakers that share real examples per question for tailings and water dam facilities. This will then be followed by a short debate and discussion.
Be part of it!
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The members of Technical Committee L Tailings Dams and Waste Lagoons welcome you to join us in Guadalajara, Mexico to celebrate our 50th committee anniversary and learn about the work our committee is leading to advance the State of the Practice for the Mining Industry and the Tailings Dam Safety Community.
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