Mining Waste Challenges: Environmental Risks of Gigatons of Mud, Dust and Sediment in Megadiverse Regions in Brazil

Flávio F Carmo,Luciana H.Y Kamino,Andressa O Lanchotti

doi:10.3390/su12208466

Abstract

The management of long-lived mining wastes is a complex environmental challenge, but the subject is little discussed among the public, scientific community, and policymakers. The negative environmental impacts caused by mining wastes are severe and cause damage to human health and the loss and degradation of natural ecosystems. With the objective of stimulating discussion to advance the development of measures to contain threats to biodiversity and to mitigate negative impacts, we present an overview of total volumes of mining waste disposal in tailings dams and dump piles, discriminating them by ore type and biome. We highlight the major environmental risks and challenges associated with tropical forests, savannas, and freshwater ecosystems and possible limitations and advances in public policies and governance. The scale of this challenge is global, as some data show, for example, Brazil generated 3.6 billion tons of solid mining waste in dump piles in the period between 2008 and 2019. The volume is equivalent to 62% of the global mass of nonfuel minerals removed from the planet’s crust in 2006. Numerous socio-environmental disasters are caused by catastrophic mining dam failures, and over the last 34 years, an average of one failure has occurred every three years in Brazil.

Highlights

Waste management is a major environmental challenge on a global scale
The production of ore results in the accumulation of two main types of mining waste: (1) Mud, chemical residues, and sandy material generated during the industrial process used to concentrate ores, which are primarily deposited behind tailings dams by hydraulic methods [10,11,12], and (2) Solid heterogeneous materials removed to access the ore in mining, which are disposed of in structures known as dump piles
Our results demonstrate that the current panorama of two main types of mining waste in Brazil represents enormous environmental challenges and requires significant improvements in public and private governance

Summary

Introduction

It has been estimated that in 2016, humankind generated two billion tons of municipal solid waste—residential, institutional, and commercial [1]. Large-scale mining is an activity that generates intense and prolonged environmental impacts, modifying entire landscapes by removing and processing billions of tons of rocky materials every year [7,8]. The production of ore results in the accumulation of two main types of mining waste: (1) Mud, chemical residues, and sandy material generated during the industrial process used to concentrate ores, which are primarily deposited behind tailings dams by hydraulic methods [10,11,12], and (2) Solid heterogeneous materials (rocks, soil, and/or sediment) removed to access the ore in mining, which are disposed of in structures known as dump piles ( identified as waste dumps, stockpiles, or spoil piles)

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Conclusion