Raw materials are a major driver of global environmental impacts. Their extraction often takes place in regions characterized by civil unrest, corruption and authoritarian governance.
Many of the minerals extracted require substantial amounts of water and energy, and the use of their products can provoke pollution and biodiversity loss. Policy-makers in raw material intensive manufacturing industries need complementary support tools and assessments to prioritize these raw materials by their environmental relevance.
Water Pollution
Mining pollutes water bodies by contaminating them with metals such as copper, cobalt and arsenic. This contamination occurs when water rushing over excavated rock and soil washes away the debris, carrying contaminants downstream. Heavy metals can harm watershed vegetation and animals that rely on it for survival. Water pollution also occurs when chemical compounds such as sulphuric acid and cyanide, which are used by mining companies to separate their target minerals from the ore, leach, leak or spill from a mine site into nearby bodies of water. These chemicals are highly toxic for both wildlife and humans in the area.
Mining also pollutes water by causing erosion and sedimentation. Erosion can smother streams and rivers, reducing water flow and contaminating the surrounding area with silt. Sedimentation can negatively impact irrigation, swimming, fishing and other activities that rely on clean water. In addition, erosion can carry toxic materials into the atmosphere, affecting air quality.
It is essential that governments and mining companies set high environmental standards for raw material extraction. This will help protect the environment and ensure that future generations have access to sufficient resources and alternative sources of energy. Furthermore, it is important to promote metal recycling and increase the use of renewable energies as a means of decreasing nonrenewable mineral resource consumption. Responsible raw material mining can only succeed if mining companies and governments collaborate and work together to meet societal needs in a sustainable manner.
Air Pollution
The extraction of raw materials requires the use of electricity, which in turn produces carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. Air pollutants can cause serious health problems for humans, as well as damage the environment, destroying biodiversity and exacerbating global warming. In addition, they can also affect human productivity and increase energy costs.
Mining companies are required to monitor and manage the effects of their operations on natural systems. These effects are measured through a variety of methods, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and ecosystem service valuation.
While modern mining techniques minimize pollution, contaminated areas continue to pose challenges for local environments and populations. For example, a large portion of metal mining takes place in the Boreal and Arctic regions, where mining activities can disrupt natural ecosystems and native human communities. The area’s harsh conditions make it vulnerable to changes caused by mining, and the environmental impacts persist long after production has ceased.
In addition, mining is often resource intensive and exacerbates water shortages. For instance, in drought-prone countries like South Africa, conflicting views exist about how much water should be given to mining companies compared with how much of it should go to the public.
The impact of mining on the human environment varies according to the ores involved and the region. The growing value placed on the environment and human quality of life make it crucial for mining to become more sustainable and to contribute to community development with greater equity. This requires a change in the way raw materials are used, as well as alternative sources of energy to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
Land Degradation
Mining destroys the natural environment, as it causes land consumption and alteration of the hydrological regime. The resulting land degradation results in soil erosion, and it can also lead to the accumulation of heavy metals or radionuclides in the groundwater. The impact on the flora and fauna is also negative, as the presence of these substances in the ecosystem can have adverse effects on their health.
In addition to environmental hazards, the mining of raw materials also leads to social impacts. For example, mining has the potential to cause air pollutants such as sulfide and cadmium that can affect human health, including mental, cardiovascular, respiratory and perinatal disorders. In addition, miners are exposed to numerous occupational health risks, for example lung diseases like silicosis caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust.
It is important to address the mining of critical raw materials from a global environmental perspective. In order to do so, it is necessary to include a more comprehensive set of indicators in the OekoRess assessment. Besides the 11 already existing environmental indicators, a new indicator for water stress and desert areas is introduced to cover the impact on the availability of water resources. In this way, the OekoRess assessment provides a better overview of the environmental issues of raw material mining and can be used as a basis for prioritization.
Human Health
Besides the environmental impacts, mining has negative human health effects such as the loss of livelihoods or increased exposure to toxic metals. This largely depends on the location of the mines, as well as the overall economic and social situation in the countries or regions where they operate.
Many mines are located in areas characterized by civil unrest, corruption and authoritarian leadership. This makes them vulnerable to environmental accidents such as dam fractures, leakages, fires with reagents and coal dust explosions, landslides and water inrushes.
Chemicals used for mining, such as cyanide, sulfuric acid and arsenic, also find their way into river systems. This can lead to the formation of acid drainage and pollute downstream rivers, lakes and oceans with hazardous chemicals. The toxins and heavy metals are then passed on to organisms further up the food chain, including humans. This process is known as biomagnification.
The environmental aspects of raw material mining are increasingly becoming an issue in policy-making and responsible sourcing strategies. This is partly based on disaster events like the tailing dam failures in Kolontar (Hungary, 2010) and Bento Rodriguez (Brazil, 2015), as well as increasing public awareness. Civil society organizations also regularly call on manufacturing industries to extend their supply chain due diligence and consider environmental concerns.