The commitment was part of the Australian Mining Tailings Communique released this week by MCA member companies, which follows on from an industry workshop earlier this year that addressed "governance, culture and risk management for [TSFs]".

"Opportunities will be identified to build industry expertise and enhance technical capacity on tailings management for the minerals workforce," the MCA said in a statement.

Specifically, the programme will drive community and key stakeholder engagement to build confidence; assess current governance standards and opportunities to better manage risks and disseminate information; and share best practice with a focus on enhancing technical expertise, hand-in-hand with the international mining community through like programmes worldwide.

The initiative was sparked by the TSF failure in January at Vale's Corrego do Feijão mine in Brumadinho, Brazil, which killed 248 people (another 22 were still missing early this month). The tragedy followed the 2015 failure of a TSF in Mariana, also in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, which killed 19 people.

The MCA programme of works, if on time, would likely coincide with the release of the high-profile global TSF review currently underway as a joint initiative between the International Council on Mining and Metals, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Principles for Responsible Investment.