The Stava Valley Tailings Dams Disaster: A Reference Point for the Prevention of Severe Mine Incidents

On July 19, 1985, at Stava near Tesero (Italian Alps), two reservoirs collapsed, causing the death of 268 people and the destruction of many buildings. The two adjacent basins were constructed for the decantation and storage of fine-grained waste material, which was pumped from a nearby fluorite mine. The consequence of the failure was a vast flowslide that found its way downstream along the Stava valley destroying many houses in the village of Stava, eventually reaching Tesero, where more property was wrecked or severely damaged. The Stava valley disaster was one of the most tragic of its kind. This paper aims to give a contribution on the technical aspects related to the causes of this catastrophic event. It also describes alternative technical solutions for the proper management of mining waste disposal and environmental protection proposed by the Stava 1985 Foundation for disseminating knowledge and awareness on how to make these geotechnical structures safer and more profitable and avoid other similar disasters that still keep occurring every year around the world.