A University of Queensland study led by Bora Aska from the Sustainable Minerals Institute and School of the Environment reveals that approximately one-third of the world’s mine tailings are situated in or near protected conservation areas. These tailings, containing waste and residues from mineral processing, are stored in some of the largest engineered structures globally. The research, published in Nature Sustainability, underscores the substantial threat posed by these waste facilities to valuable species and environments.
Of the 1,721 disclosed tailings facilities, 9% were located within officially declared protected areas, and 20% were within a five-kilometer radius of such areas. The study highlights the global impact, indicating that mine wastes jeopardize biodiversity in protected areas worldwide. Shockingly, eight active tailings storage dams in Australian protected areas, acknowledged by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, are included in this alarming statistic.
The study draws attention to the potential risks by citing the 2015 Samarco dam failure in Brazil, where 19 lives were lost, and the 2019 dam collapse near Brumadinho, resulting in 270 fatalities and significant environmental damage. Bora Aska expresses concern about the future risks of failures in areas crucial for biodiversity and species conservation, emphasizing the need for comprehensive risk assessment.
Associate Professor Laura Sonter underscores the growing complexity of managing mine waste as a sustainability challenge. Predictions indicate a substantial increase in total tailings production over the next 30 years due to rising demand for energy transition metals and diminishing ore grades. Dr. Sonter emphasizes the urgency of addressing the current global distribution of tailings storage facilities and their failure rates, emphasizing the potentially devastating consequences for biodiversity.
Highlighting the importance of available data, Dr. Sonter suggests that opportunities exist to integrate this knowledge into designing new facilities and managing existing ones. The Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative, initiated after the Brumadinho disaster, provided crucial information drawn from disclosures of publicly listed companies. Dr. Sonter concludes with a call to expedite efforts in mitigating the negative impacts of mining waste on both people and the environment.
