Although some stages, such as the separation of minerals, can reuse and recycle the water, other stages such as spraying to remove airborne dust will lead to pollution of the water, preventing water from being recycled. Examples include dust mitigation, removing soluble particles, sieving and separation processes, and in creating tailings dams for waste management.

Mining and mineral processing operations often have high water footprints as many stages require the use of water. However, the process of mining remains intense and invasive, and operations often leave large environmental impacts on the local surroundings as well as having wider implications for the environmental health of the planet. For example, a single lithium-ion electric vehicle battery pack (a type known as NMC111) uses around 16kg of lithium, 46kg of nickel, 46kg of cobalt and 43kg of manganese.Ĭhart showing the annual revenues accumulated by the top 40 mining companies from mining different materials. Whilst demand for some resources such as coal is falling, other resources such as copper are seeing increasing demand as new products and technologies require different materials. In 2020, the top 40 mining companies had together accumulated a total revenue of USD$544 billion, which was up 4% on the previous year. The mining and processing of minerals provides us with the building blocks required to form much of the infrastructure needed to support modern societies. However, is this causing us to dig ourselves a growing hole of environmental issues? We examine the biggest environmental problems caused by mining.

In a world driven by consumerism where the majority of products fail to be recycled, mining remains essential for providing resources to help economies grow and improve standards of living. Earth.Org is powered by over 150 contributing writers

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