When a mine site collapse in Africa claims more than a hundred lives, it forces a hard question for every operator working underground or managing tailings on the surface: what separates a regulated site from a fatal one? The answer lies in monitoring: continuous, mandated, and enforced across the entire life of a mine.
The CAR mine collapse
On 20 August 2026, an artisanal gold mine in Zamboye, Central African Republic, caved in after a landslide buried miners working in unsupported underground tunnels. More than 100 people are believed to have died, with many more trapped beneath collapsed ground.
Authorities launched an investigation, and social-media footage shows an avalanche of sand engulfing the area where miners had been working. Investigators attributed the disaster to the failure of several tunnels that had never been engineered or reinforced. Environmental conditions such as heavy rainfall destabilise soil and trigger mudslides and landslides in mining areas and the Zamboye site lacked any early-warning system or emergency capacity.
Informal operations vs Australia’s highly regulated mines
The structural gap between an informal operation and a regulated Australian mine is fundamental. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations often lack proper engineering and structural reinforcement. Companies may excavate without engineered support systems, increasing the risk of collapses. On top of that, there are no geological surveys, geotechnical assessments, trigger-action-response plan or qualified personnel monitoring ground conditions.
In contrast, Australian mines, particularly those here in WA, operate under a dense regulatory framework that covers licensing, environmental approvals, water rights, heritage clearances and continuous safety oversight from first drill hole to final closure.
What WA sites are required to monitor and report
Large-scale mining operations create vast engineering and regulatory frameworks to prevent site collapses. In Western Australia, regulators require health and safety management systems and risk assessments at every stage of the mine lifecycle.
Here is what that means in practice:
Geotechnical monitoring obligations
Under the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022, every mine must maintain a Mine Safety Management System covering design, operation, maintenance and closure. Geotechnical monitoring systems need to be in place to detect ground movements and operators must document tolerance limits, set trigger levels and have trigger-action-response plans in place.
Groundwater and surface-water monitoring obligations
All mines must consider groundwater regimes in geotechnical design. Dewatering, inflows, surface drainage and their influence on wall stability require ongoing measurement.
Additionally, drinking water supplied to workers must meet Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, with results reported to the Department of Health.
Environmental monitoring and contamination testing obligations
Operators must control toxic discharges, prevent heavy metals leaching into groundwater, monitor air emissions, and rehabilitate land. Quarterly and annual environmental reports are typically required. Exceedances must be reported and acted upon; there is no discretion to delay.
Life-of-mine reporting and post-closure monitoring
Mine Closure Plans are a statutory requirement. They must include baseline data, risk assessments, completion criteria, financial provisioning and post-closure monitoring for a minimum of ten years.
High-risk features such as acid-forming waste or tailings dams may require monitoring for much longer. Regulators will also ask for quarterly safety reports, three-yearly reviews of safety management systems and regular independent audits.
Tailings dam monitoring and tailings storage facilities requirements
Western Australia has over 800 tailings storage facilities, many inactive or historic. Monitoring plans are required by mining regulators for every operational TSF.
Required instrumentation includes:
- Piezometers (pore water pressure)
- Slope inclinometers (deformation)
- Settlement gauges
- Seepage and leakage monitors
- Freeboard / water level gauges
Sensors track wall movement and pore pressure in tailings dams continuously. Trigger action response plans define thresholds, ranging from increased inspection frequency through restricted access to full evacuation. Monitoring frequency is varied by facility category: Category 1 (highest consequence) demands the most detailed and frequent inspection and data collection. Storms and extreme weather events trigger additional checks.
Autonomous monitoring systems can provide alerts for tailings dam issues in near-real time. Technologies such as telemetry-enabled sensors, drone surveys, and satellites for InSAR (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) are increasingly adopted, especially for higher-risk or remote facilities where physical access may be delayed.
Monitoring during challenging conditions
Almost every Western Australian mine site is situated in a remote and challenging environment. Sites could be subject to tropical cyclones, seasonal storms, coastal or low-lying terrain with saline groundwater, acid sulfate soils and limited access or power. Each of these conditions can increase the likelihood of collapse, contamination and regulatory breach.
| Condition | Key monitoring requirement |
|---|---|
| Tropical cyclone/heavy rain | Increased inspection frequency, freeboard checks, drainage capacity |
| Coastal/low-lying area | Saline water intrusion, groundwater salinity, pH, heavy metals |
| Acid sulfate soils | Periodic soil and pore water sampling, pyrite content, oxidation management |
| Remote/limited access | InSAR, satellite remote sensing, drone surveys, telemetry |
Practical monitoring systems and data practices
Deploying the right system is only part of the equation. In practice, reliability depends on how data is collected, integrated and acted upon.
Real-time sensors: Piezometers, embankment movement sensors and water level gauges should be connected via telemetry, enabling 24/7 data flow and continuous logging. This approach lets operators identify changes before they become emergencies.
Integrated data platforms for alerts: Platforms that bring together geotechnical, water quality, environmental and safety data allow automated alerts when any parameter approaches its trigger value. This innovation reduces the time between detection and response from days to minutes.
QA/QC and calibration routines: Instruments require regular calibration, maintenance and verification after extreme events. Visual inspections complement instrument readings but must feed directly into the same warning framework.
Inspection schedules tied to trigger levels: Routine inspections should follow a risk-based frequency:
- Daily or weekly for high-risk infrastructure
- Monthly or quarterly for instrumentation readings on tailings embankments
- Annual independent external audits
The guidance is clear: spot checks alone are not sufficient. Continuous monitoring across the full mine lifecycle is the standard.
How West Soil & Water supports WA’s resource sector
West Soil & Water is a specialist, independent environmental consultancy that works across the resources sector in Western Australia. Our services span the full monitoring and compliance lifecycle:
- Desktop risk screening and baseline studies: Mapping geology, soil types, watercourses; assessing acid sulfate soil potential; modelling groundwater-surface water flow; reviewing historical contamination.
- Site inspections and geotechnical sampling: Soil strength testing, core sampling, pit wall stability surveys, tailings embankment inspections and remote sensing field surveys.
- Soil and water testing: NATA accredited laboratory analysis for heavy metals, sulphates, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and other contaminants in seepage, stormwater and groundwater. Acid mine drainage assessments included.
- Acid sulfate soils monitoring and treatment: Periodic sampling, identifying pyrite content, manage exposure and oxidation, designing amelioration or avoidance strategies.
- Ongoing environmental monitoring for mining sites: Installation and maintenance of monitoring wells, freeboard gauges and data management platforms. Preparation of environmental, safety, and geotechnical reports. Compliance support with WA codes and regulations and emergency response planning.
Whether your site is operational, nearing closure or navigating legislative or regulatory changes, we provide the information and confidence operators need to manage risk.
4 steps you can take yourself
Implementation is what separates paper from practice. Based on the patterns behind recent disasters and the mine safety standards enforced in Western Australia, here are four ways (aside from working with a monitoring consultant) operators can reduce risk:
- Prioritise continuous monitoring over spot checks. Monitoring must be broad and maintained across the whole mine life. Intermittent inspection is not a substitute.
- Commission independent peer reviews of tailings designs. This is especially important for upstream versus downstream structure choices, embankment material selection and foundation conditions. Independent review catches what familiarity misses.
- Implement clear trigger-action-response plans. Define trigger thresholds, action levels, responsible people and emergency procedures. Drill them and update them each year.
- Hold adequate environmental bonds. Financial provisioning should be large enough to fund closure, long-term monitoring, and remediation in worst-case failure scenarios. Operators without adequate bonds put themselves and their communities at greater risk.
The industry must follow through on these standards in the field, not only on the day of approval.
Speak with our team today
In Western Australia, a rigorously enforced regulatory regime exists to prevent catastrophic outcomes. An effective monitoring program forms the backbone of your compliance.
If you need confidence that your site meets every obligation from quarries and open pits to tailings embankments, contact West Soil & Water. We offer expert site risk reviews, tailored monitoring programs, soil and water testing and ongoing compliance support for operators across WA.
Mines and tailings storage facilities monitoring FAQs
What is tailings dam monitoring? Tailings dam monitoring is the systematic measurement, inspection, and evaluation of tailings storage facilities to ensure structural integrity, environmental safety and regulatory compliance. It involves instrumentation, water quality testing and visual and remote observations, all tied to defined trigger levels and response actions.
How often must tailings storage facilities report? Reporting frequency depends on the facility’s consequence category. Some reports are annual; others are triggered by events such as heavy rainfall, construction lifts or operational changes.
Routine inspections may be weekly or monthly and formal independent audits are required at least annually or per tenement conditions. Category 1 facilities (highest consequence) face the most frequent and detailed obligations.
What instruments are commonly used? Common tools include piezometers, inclinometers, settlement gauges, seepage monitors, freeboard gauges and slope stability monitors. Increasingly, remote sensing technologies supplement in-ground equipment.