Water Use & Contamination

🌱 Why is water a concern when mining? Large amounts of water are needed for mining and mineral processing. Yet, a good half of all copper and lithium production sites worldwide are in areas facing “high water stress”.[i] The adverse impacts of lithium extraction have — for example — “been documente

🌱 Why does mining disproportionately impact Indigenous Peoples? Mining disproportionately impacts Indigenous communities. Over half of the “transition materials [are] located on or near land where Indigenous people live”. Moreover, “85% of […] lithium extraction projects [are] on or near land manag

🌱 What ecosystem services do rivers and wetlands provide? As rivers and wetland ecosystems provide a plurality of ecosystem services, damage to them can also lead to huge economic losses. Recent research from the European Central Bank — for example — shows that approximately 75% of all euro area co

🌱 How does mining impact Indigenous People’s rights to water? According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “the impact of extractivism on natural resources, compounded with the effects of climate change, has meant many indigenous peoples no longer have access to

🌱 How does mining impact people and the planet? Mining strongly affects ecosystems and the people surrounding the area. Overall, mining is estimated to impact 23 million people worldwide.[i] Open-pit mining is especially known to “destro[y] vast territories, including wetlands, underground aquifers

🌱 What adverse effects can mining have? Mining comes with both actual and potential adverse effects.[i] The precise impacts at any given location depend “on several factors, including the methods and technology used, the size of the project, and the ecological and hydrological conditions specific t