\n<\/p>\n
Weda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth\u2019s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy.<\/p>\n
Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key biodiversity areas (KBAs), accounting for nearly 5% of the mining sector\u2019s global footprint. China, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico top the rankings for total surface mining area within key biodiversity areas, the most naturally precious areas of the planet.<\/p>\n
Until recently, quantifying the industry\u2019s exact imprint has been a difficult task, with mining companies rarely sharing accessible details about their environmental impact. But a growing number of researchers are using satellite imagery to track the sector\u2019s activities from space.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a huge gap on the global assessments of the footprint of mining. It is much bigger than we think,\u201d says Victor Maus, a researcher at Vienna University of Economics and Business. \u201cMost of what is published about mines is for businesses and attracting investors. There\u2019s not much about their impacts. It has somehow escaped the eye of the international community,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
With growing demand for commodities to fuel the green energy transition, the mining sector\u2019s footprint continues to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see an expansion of mines in biodiverse areas, particularly with materials like nickel in Indonesia. You have seen expansion into pristine forests over the past few years. The same in the Amazon in Brazil and Peru \u2013 gold mining is big there,\u201d says Maus.<\/p>\n
Once a mine has opened, habitat is often lost for ever. Many use huge amounts of water from the surrounding area, depleting rivers, aquifers and lakes. Despite efforts from the industry to clean up its act, mining waste is often poorly stored and has resulted in significant pollution events from acid, heavy metals and waste rock.<\/p>\n
It is hard to put a figure on the amount of nature that may have been lost to mining activities but a recent study estimated that more than 4,500 animal species are threatened with extinction by mining. Immediate destruction of habitat, along with pollution of watercourses and deforestation for access, all threaten their survival, researchers say. Wildlife like the bent-toed gecko, which is only found on a single mountain range in Malaysia, are among those that could disappear. The Yangtze river dophin and several lemur species are other examples that have already been harmed by mining. A separate study found that up to one-third of Africa\u2019s great ape population is facing mining-related risks.<\/p>\n
The analysis here only covers mines that are operational. Demand for critical minerals in 2050 is projected to be 16 times higher than 2020 levels, according to one study. This is already pushing mining projects further into key biodiversity areas.<\/p>\n
The pattern seen in Weda Bay, Indonesia, is being replicated in other parts of the world. Weda Bay\u2019s operators did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
2010<\/p>\n
2025<\/p>\n
Source: Planet Labs<\/span><\/p>\n Around Sepon gold and copper mine in Laos, habitat has been destroyed and polluted over the lifetime of the operation. The mine\u2019s operators did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n In the Kayap\u00f3 Indigenous territory in Brazil, one of the largest protected areas of its kind in the world, illegal goldminers are ravaging areas of the Amazon rainforest. In 2010, the forest was largely intact. But just 15 years later, large areas had been cleared.<\/p>\n 2010<\/p>\n 2025<\/p>\n Source: Planet Labs<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are some places where mining should simply be off the table,\u201d says Tim Werner, a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne who has worked with Maus to better understand the scale of the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cAreas such as Raja Ampat in Indonesia are among the most beautiful and biologically rich places on Earth, where intact rainforests sit alongside extraordinary coral reef systems. Yet they are at risk of being totally decimated by mining for critical metals. At some point, the benefits of extracting minerals are outweighed by the irreparable loss of places like these. We are indeed at a global crossroads, and we need an honest conversation about no-go zones and about prioritising extraction in landscapes we can afford to affect \u2013 even if that means higher costs,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs.<\/p>\n The maps of key biodiversity areas were sourced from the KBA Partnership. It defines key biodiversity areas as \u201cthe most significant sites on Earth for nature, ranging from vast deserts to the depths of the ocean. These areas are crucial for maintaining the health of our planet and ensuring various species can survive.\u201d<\/p>\n The maps of mines and materials are sourced from data by Victor Maus of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, using data from the scientific article, \u2018A Data-Driven Approach to Mapping Global Commodity-Specific Mining Land-Use\u2019, and available from minethegap. This analysis is based on modelling of mining activity using a global grid of 0.5\u00b0 squares sized at roughly 50 sq km.<\/p>\n Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield in the Guardian app for more nature coverage<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Weda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth\u2019s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy. Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[9247,1094,4565,16810,1522,23710],"class_list":{"0":"post-46425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-bay","9":"tag-mining","10":"tag-nature","11":"tag-sacrificed","12":"tag-story","13":"tag-weda"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Goldmine in Kayap\u00f3 Indigenous territory, Brazil<\/h2>\n
Methodology<\/strong><\/h2>\n