Industrial-scale mining for materials such as coal, gold, and iron ore is spurring tropical deforestation, with once-impenetrable forest cleared for mines and access roads, new research shows.
In the first study to quantify the impact of industrial mining on tropical forest loss, an international team of scientists found that just four countries are largely to blame: Brazil, Indonesia, Ghana and Suriname.
"The energy transition is going to require very large amounts of minerals - copper, lithium, cobalt - for decarbonized technologies," said coauthor Anthony Bebbington, a geographer at Clark University in Massachusetts. "We need more planning tools on the parts of governments and companies to mitigate the impacts of mining on forest loss."
For the study, the researchers studied global satellite images and data tracking forest loss alongside location information for industrial-scale mining operations from the past two decades. The study did not measure the impacts from small-scale and artisanal mining, which can also be a challenge as pollution goes unregulated.
But around industrial mining sites, the four countries dominated. The biggest losses were in Indonesia, where coal mines on the island of Borneo have expanded to meet fuel demand from China and India.
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