According to Danie Otto, Asset Transition and Closure Business Lead at SLR Consulting, the opportunity is being driven by significant shifts in the scale, technology and regulatory context surrounding tailings management. Otto, who is also President of the Land Rehabilitation Society of Southern Africa, says retreatment enables a fundamental reset in environmental compliance.

“When historic tailings are reprocessed and relocated, they must be deposited in facilities designed to meet modern regulatory requirements, including the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management,” he explains. “This represents a step change from older TSFs, which were established under far less stringent standards.”

Modern facilities can now be designed, constructed and managed using today’s professional expertise and the latest pollution control technologies. These include engineered liners, drainage systems and water recovery infrastructure that significantly reduce seepage risks.

“In effect, retreatment allows companies to upgrade their legacy environmental risks into assets that comply with current best practice,” Otto says. “This is something that would be far more difficult to achieve in situ with an old TSF.”

While TSF retreatment remains strongly driven by economics, many historic dumps still contain valuable recoverable minerals. Gold, in particular, has become increasingly attractive as commodity prices have strengthened. However, the financial upside extends well beyond mineral recovery.

“By removing legacy deposits and relocating material to modern facilities, mining companies can significantly reduce long-term environmental liabilities,” he says. “This reduces the liability of continuous seepage treatment and continuous dust prevention, for instance, as these features are more efficiently built into the new systems.”

Advances in technology are further supporting this transition. Otto highlights developments in geosynthetic materials and liners as one of the most important innovations shaping modern TSFs.

“An important field of development is in geosynthetic materials and liners, which form the backbone of pollution control in modern TSFs,” he says. “These systems prevent contamination by capturing and recycling seepage from the TSF, preventing it from infiltrating the surrounding environment.”

At the same time, erosion control technologies such as biodegradable netting are transforming rehabilitation efforts. These nets reduce wind force, minimise dust pollution and create more favourable conditions for vegetation to establish and thrive. Because they are made from organic materials, they biodegrade over time and contribute positively to the surrounding ecosystem.

“On the biological front, innovations in phytoremediation and microbiology are pushing the boundaries even further,” Otto continues. “Scientists are now able to deploy bacteria and plants that actively neutralise pollutants, absorb heavy metals and improve soil conditions.”

Using bacteria that consume acid, professional scientists have been able to extract sulphates and generate carbonates from TSFs, effectively producing alkaline conditions from acidic environments. Similarly, certain plant species act as hyper-accumulators, drawing contaminants from tailings and storing them in biomass that can then be removed from the system.

“While it is difficult to render tailings completely inert, these technologies significantly reduce environmental risk and improve ecological outcomes,” he says.

Beyond containment and remediation, modern TSF strategies are also aligning with broader sustainability goals such as biodiversity restoration and carbon sequestration.

“Relocating tailings and creating new storage facilities opens the door to modern interventions that support vegetation growth, prevent erosion and encourage ecological succession,” Otto explains. “This makes it more viable to gradually transform engineered landscapes into functioning ecosystems.”

In some cases, these efforts may also generate additional revenue streams through carbon and biodiversity credits, further strengthening the commercial case for rehabilitation.

Despite ongoing challenges around compliant mine closure – particularly mine closure certification – Otto emphasises that TSF retreatment remains one of the most practical and impactful pathways for addressing mining’s environmental legacy.

“By combining economic incentives with technological innovation and stricter regulatory frameworks, retreatment offers a rare alignment of interests between industry, regulators and society,” he concludes.

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According to Stuart Heather-Clark, SLR Consulting’s Power Sector Lead for the Middle East and Africa, a large-scale green hydrogen development differs fundamentally from a standalone wind or solar project.

“A typical green ammonia export scheme, for instance, is a complex chain of interdependent infrastructure, with elements that can stretch across 300 to 500 kilometres,” he explains. “Each element carries its own technical, environmental and social risk profile which must be managed by specialists across multiple disciplines working in close collaboration.”

Some proposed schemes involve renewable energy capacities at a scale not yet realised elsewhere in the world. Once projects move into the 5 to 7 GW range, they exceed the benchmark of most existing wind or solar installations.

“Scale alone multiplies risk,” Heather-Clark says, “as land take expands dramatically, transmission distances increase and cumulative impacts become more difficult to predict and manage.”

Integration Challenges Across Engineering and Environmental Domains

The integration challenge begins at the engineering level. Wind farm designers, transmission line engineers, electrolyser specialists, and ammonia process engineers must align their approaches. Port designers, marine engineers, and desalination experts introduce further technical assumptions and constraints.

“Environmental consultants cannot operate independently of these engineering teams,” he emphasises. “Infrastructure footprints may be determined by engineering logic, such as proximity to substations or optimal wind regimes, but without early interrogation, those decisions can inadvertently embed environmental and social risk.”

A technically ideal flat site near a grid connection for a solar installation may support subsistence farming, contain cultural heritage resources, wetlands, or key biodiversity features. Transmission corridors may intersect bird migration routes while coastal intake structures can affect sensitive marine ecosystems.

“Green hydrogen projects operate simultaneously across multiple ecological domains,” Heather-Clark notes. “A single development can involve terrestrial biodiversity – birds, bats, and vegetation – alongside freshwater systems and marine ecology while also introducing air emissions, noise impacts, and industrial safety risks.”

Baseline studies for wind components may require one to two years of bird and bat monitoring before layouts are finalised. Marine assessments demand specialist surveys, while industrial hydrogen and ammonia plants introduce hazardous materials whose risks must be assessed alongside ecological considerations. The geographical dispersion of assets further compounds coordination risk.

“Renewable generation may be located inland, desalination on the coast, and export facilities at a port,” he explains. “Infrastructure corridors connect them, so impacts are not confined to a single footprint. They can accumulate across regions and even across jurisdictions.”

In cross-border contexts, developers must navigate different regulatory frameworks while aligning local environmental legislation with international lender standards.

“The consequence is that green hydrogen developments cannot be managed as linear projects,” Heather-Clark says. “They are systems projects where decisions in one subsystem ripple through others.”

For example, a change in the layout of a renewable power installation can alter transmission routing, which may affect biodiversity impacts. This could necessitate additional mitigation at higher capital expenditure, influencing the project’s financial model. If financial constraints arise, design optimisation may be triggered, restarting the cycle.

Early Integrated Engagement as the Solution

Heather-Clark stresses that the solution lies in early, integrated engagement. Engineers, environmental specialists, and financiers must align during the concept and pre-feasibility stages. By thoroughly interrogating infrastructure footprints before designs are finalised, teams can apply the mitigation hierarchy – avoid, minimise, restore, and offset – more effectively.

“This proactive approach enables greater front-end loading,” he concludes, “reducing the risk of appeals, redesigns, and lender non-compliance later in the project lifecycle.”

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Mining’s sustainability landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, and success now depends on seeing far beyond individual technical disciplines. According to Angus Bracken, Mining Sector Lead for Africa and the Middle East at SLR Consulting, the real differentiator lies in understanding the entire mining value chain.

Navigating mining’s fast changing sustainability landscape begins with a full understanding of the entire value chain, says Bracken. Whether a project is at conceptual scoping, operational execution or preparing for closure, he argues that consultants deliver the greatest value when they can see, interpret and advise on every stage of the process.

This philosophy underpins SLR Consulting’s integrated mining advisory model. The firm structures its expertise around eight Communities of Practice; each aligned with a phase of the mining lifecycle. These span strategic advisory, resource development, environmental, social and governance (ESG), climate change, water management, tailings and mine closure. The result is a multidisciplinary approach designed to respond to mining’s growing complexity.

“Clients don’t want advisers who only see one slice of the project,” Bracken says. “They want teams who understand the whole value chain from strategy and financing to environmental performance and community engagement and who can walk with them from the earliest concept right through to closure.”

This whole of value chain perspective does not just improve technical outcomes. It also strengthens collaboration and trust, both critical ingredients in modern mining developments.

“Meaningful partnership is only possible when you understand what each stakeholder needs, including operators, investors, regulators, lenders and communities,” he continues. “That requires seeing the entire landscape, not just your own discipline.”

Global reach, local depth

SLR Consulting’s rapid expansion reflects the growing demand for integrated sustainability expertise. The firm now employs 4,500 people across 135 offices in 28 countries, with an expanding footprint across Africa including Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Namibia and South Africa.

To enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing, SLR recently unified Africa, the Middle East and Europe into a single super region. Bracken points out that increasing Middle Eastern investment in African mining has elevated the strategic importance of the firm’s office in the United Arab Emirates.

“Our model prizes local understanding paired with deep global expertise,” he explains. “We want the right team local and global around the table for every project; that is how we bring depth, context and perspective.”

ESG is no longer optional

For Dieter Rodewald, SLR Consulting’s International Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Lead for Africa and the Middle East, sustainable mining is no longer about ticking regulatory boxes. It requires early alignment, continuous engagement and a clear understanding of stakeholder expectations from day one.

“This is where SLR Consulting positions itself not just as a technical consultant, but as a strategic partner,” Rodewald says. “People often think environmental and social assessments are just compliance exercises. However, our work starts much earlier, helping clients navigate ESG imperatives from day one so that sustainability becomes embedded in decision making rather than added as an afterthought.”

This approach is becoming essential as African governments modernise mining regulations and global financiers tighten ESG requirements.

“If a client wants access to capital, they need to meet global good practice, not just national regulations,” he explains. “Financial institutions want assurance that the full range of project risks are understood and managed from the start.”

When legacy issues threaten progress

Many mining projects inherit complex social and political challenges and ignoring them can derail even the strongest technical plans. Rodewald recalls a project revival where previous ownership had left behind deep community mistrust. The new team faced intense pressure to reach financial close, complete engineering designs and finalise ESG baselines.

“We had to work with the client to take a step back and help them rebuild trust,” he says. “The solution was a grassroots engagement strategy that reset expectations and re-established transparent communication. Over just a few months, we saw marked improvement in community confidence.”

The lesson is clear. Social licence cannot be fast tracked, and sustainable project timelines must reflect on the ground realities.

Technology as a sustainability enabler

Looking ahead, Bracken believes technology will play a transformative role in African mining, but only when introduced early and strategically. Renewable energy partnerships, for example, are helping mining companies reduce carbon emissions while securing long term power supply.

“Digital innovation and artificial intelligence can transform monitoring and planning, through digital twins, predictive analytics and hyperspectral imagery, for example,” he adds. “Remote sensing and advanced satellite data can now support improvements in everything from exploration to tailings monitoring and biodiversity assessment.”

Across regions and disciplines, the message from SLR Consulting is consistent. Sustainable mining requires strategic partnership, early engagement and full value chain visibility. By embedding ESG considerations from concept through closure, mining projects can build stronger operations, earn stakeholder trust and remain resilient in an increasingly demanding global market.

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