This conference is the twenty-fourth in the series of international conferences on paste, thickened and filtered tailings (P&TT) initiated by the ACG in 1999, and reflects the developing maturity of P&TT management.

Paste 2021 seeks to explore the considerations needed to raise the mining industry leaders’ awareness of how important environmental stewardship, with regard to their tailings facilities, is to long-term industry sustainability.

Over the past decade, the potential benefits to be gained from adopting thickened tailings technology on mining operations have become widely accepted, and there would be few mine feasibility studies presently undertaken that do not include this as an option to be evaluated.

Very interestingly, a number of operations are now retrofitting their plants and tailings storages from conventional to thickened technology. The reason for this is the increase in the mass of tailings that can be accommodated on a given footprint and, more importantly, the greater volume of water that can be recovered for reuse in the plant in arid areas.

This conference will be held as a traditional physical event in Fremantle, Western Australia, COVID-19 permitting, (for up-to-date information, visit https://www.wa.gov.au/government/covid-19-coronavirus) as well as an online event, allowing participation from anywhere in the world.

Conference Themes

• Thickening and filtration
• Transportation
• Rheology
• Surface disposal
• Underground and backfill
• Closure and rehabilitation
• Case studies
• Emerging issues and technologies
• Instrumentation and monitoring of tailings