ecoHQ

The world is grappling with the urgent need to mitigate climate change. This global state of emergency declared by various climate scientists has made the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, more significant than ever. 

During COP28, the world nations announced a global agreement on tripling renewables and annual doubling of efficiency until 2030. The deal targets a minimum of 11,000 Gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030.

Sharing the overarching goal of reducing dependency on fossil fuels, it has become increasingly crucial to diversify the sources of materials essential for modern technologies. Technologies depending on minerals such as cobalt, lithium, titanium, and Rare Earth Elements (REE) offer a promising pathway towards decarbonisation, along with the advancement of many sectors, including telecommunication, defence, and hi-tech electronics.

Hence, we need to mine many critical minerals and commodities to transition our system away from fossil fuels. This transition doesn’t come easy; it requires significant investment in research and development, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks to ensure a smooth transition.

What are critical minerals?

Critical minerals are the foundation on which we build modern technology. They are vital for national security and economic development. The world needs critical minerals to construct solar panels, semiconductors, wind turbines, and advanced batteries for storage and transportation. 

The energy transition is impossible without critical minerals. Some minerals are found only in a few places, and sometimes, they may be hard to extract or process, causing a problem for supply chains. 

In other words, if something goes wrong in those mining areas, it could disrupt the supply of these minerals to different places. That is why their supply chain resilience has become increasingly prioritised for major economies, including India.

The Flip side of Decarbonisation

Several scientists say we can not consider renewable energy circular because we must mine critical minerals and rare earth elements that are scarce and non-renewable to build such capacities. 

While mining critical minerals is crucial for various industries and technologies, what about the environmental and social challenges that come with it?

Fatalities in mining areas

Sadly, the rights of indigenous communities are at risk in certain regions where mining expansion or processing of ores destroy ancestral territories, affecting and violating community interests.

Fatal accidents cause widespread environmental damage. One was the catastrophic iron-ore tailings dam breach in Brumadinho, Brazil, which killed 272 people and flattened entire villages. The destruction of the Juukan Gorge, a sacred site (previously occupied for 46,000 years) in Australia, shows us what mining does to communities. 

In another incident, over 200 school children and over 40 miners were hospitalised due to a sulphur dioxide gas leak at Vedanta’s Nchanga mine in Zambia in 2019. Reportedly, the company claimed it did not have access to the mine site. 

Corporate Negligence

According to a study, the most common cause of reported incidents is the lack of adequate corporate measures to prevent harm beyond cases where harmful practices are legalised, intentional, or integrated into business actions. Shockingly, many mine sites show no evidence of having an operational grievance mechanism for communities and other external stakeholders.

Child Labour

Around 60% of the world’s cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Appallingly, children as young as seven are working as miners at these large numbers of unregulated mines. They work in tunnels liable to collapse and breathe cobalt-laden dust, resulting in fatal lung ailments. To add more to the already upsetting situation, most even drink water contaminated by waste discharge from a nearby mineral processing plant.

Health Issues 

Workers, including children, worldwide are working without even the most basic protective equipment, such as gloves and face masks. Not surprisingly, mining is known as one of the most hazardous occupations in the world, mainly due to short-term injuries and fatalities and long-term impacts such as cancers and respiratory conditions like silicosis, pneumoconiosis and asbestosis.

Damages to Flora and Fauna

Irresponsible mining practices negatively affect humans, flora, and fauna. According to WWF, the number of Indochinese tigers in the Greater Mekong region has decreased drastically due to habitat fragmentation caused by infrastructure development. Gold mining in the Amazon Basin has unfortunately led to elevated mercury levels, endangering species like the Tucuxi River dolphin.

Alarmingly, over one-third of the mining-related deforestation in the last twenty years has occurred in just the last five years and is likely to increase in the coming years.

Illegal Mines

In China, around 20,000 tons of REEs are illegally mined and exported annually from off-grid mines. These illegal mines reportedly lack environmental safeguards, so contamination, dust, and other wastes are not considered. 

According to a research paper, mines in China release 9,600 to 12,000 cubic meters of toxic gas containing flue dust concentrate, hydrofluoric acid, sulphur dioxide, and sulfuric acid for each ton of REEs produced. Additionally, nearly 75 cubic meters of acidic waste water and one ton of radioactive waste residue are generated.

Governance is the need of the hour.

It’s high time governments started holding mining companies accountable for their environmental responsibilities, including habitat restoration and pollution control.

In-situ mining can be used instead of physically removing large quantities of ore. This process involves injecting a leaching solution that dissolves the desired minerals, which can then be pumped to the surface for processing. In-situ mining helps reduce the environmental footprint, energy consumption, and waste production.

A global framework must be created to promote responsible and sustainable mining practices, keeping collaboration and cooperation in mind. Creating appropriate regulations and sharing experiences must be on the top agenda.

Thorough Environmental Impact Assessments should be conducted before mining to identify potential risks and develop measures to minimise adverse environmental impacts.

Community engagement, investing in research and innovation, engaging with local communities and Indigenous groups, rehabilitation and closure planning, and financial assurance are some strategies that can help the mining industry be more responsible towards the environment.

While we may continue highlighting the detrimental impacts of irresponsible and unregulated mining and suggesting numerous solutions, we wonder if anyone is genuinely heeding the warnings. 

Yes, the possibilities of a brighter future are endless and on the horizon. Still, the true challenge lies in ensuring a greener and more sustainable future. The pursuit of good should not result in more harm!

Credits

Smriti is a certified digital content writer. She has a master’s in Mass Communication and Journalism, loves the mountains and the beach, lives out of suitcases/trunks (Fauji life)! Cold coffee fuels her creativity and helping out an animal in need makes her heart full.

The article was strategised and edited by Deepa Sai

References

• https://matthiasmuehlbauer.substack.com/p/climate-theatre-turns-28-cop28-in
• https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/the-mining-conundrum-for-critical-minerals
• https://jordantimes.com/opinion/ayoub-abu-dayyeh/negative-impact-mining
• https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?8455466/Mining-impacts-affect-up-to-13-of-global-forest-ecosystems-and-tipped-to-rise-with-increased-demand-for-metals
• https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/03/child-labour-toxic-leaks-the-price-we-could-pay-for-a-greener-future
• https://www.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/migrate/G01051.pdf
• https://www.responsibleminingfoundation.org/app/uploads/RMF_Harmful_Impacts_Report_EN.pdf