Biodiversity conservation threatened by global mining wastes

Bora Aska (), Daniel M. Franks, Martin Stringer and Laura J. Sonter
Additional contact information
Bora Aska: University of Queensland
Daniel M. Franks: University of Queensland
Martin Stringer: Sustainable Minerals Institute Brisbane
Laura J. Sonter: University of Queensland

Nature Sustainability, 2024, vol. 7, issue 1, 23-30

Abstract: Abstract Mine tailings—the residue remaining after mineral processing—represent a serious risk to the natural environment, and the failure of tailing storage facilities has caused some of the most serious environmental disasters in history. However, the potential biodiversity impacts globally due to tailings are mostly unknown. Here we assess the spatial coincidence between 1,721 disclosed tailings storage facilities and currently protected areas (PAs) and other conservation priorities (Key Biodiversity Areas and remaining intact ecosystems). Nine percent of storage facilities are located within PAs, half of which were established after the PA was designated. Another 20% of storage facilities are within 5 km of a PA, indicating even larger risks posed by upstream facility failures. Despite international commitments to mitigating biodiversity loss, tailings storage facilities continue to be established within PAs, with an upward trend in the proportion established within already-existing PAs. Given our findings, it is unsurprising that biodiversity factors are rarely included when assessing and categorizing the risks posed by new and existing tailings storage facilities. Greater transparency and a holistic consequence-based approach, supported by data, monitoring and new technologies are needed to drive reform at local, national and regional levels.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01251-0 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natsus:v:7:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41893-023-01251-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/natsustain/

DOI: 10.1038/s41893-023-01251-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Sustainability is currently edited by Monica Contestabile

More articles in Nature Sustainability from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().