The sustainability index of the physical mining Environment in protected areas, Eastern Amazon

Abstract

The application of sustainability principles to mining activities remains challenging. Explorations of non-renewable natural resources are irreversible; however, they can be better compensated for if the profit resulting from extraction is reinvested in social and human well-being and if environmental impacts are repaired. Thus, the evaluation of mining sustainability is necessary and requires efficient indicators to measure economic, social, and environmental performance. Here, we present the composite environmental sustainability index [CESI] of the landscape for iron mines in the Carajás National Forest, a protected site in the Brazilian Amazon. The index integrates 20 individual environmental indicators related to (1) changes in land cover and land use, (2) direct impacts caused by operations, (3) residue disposal and management, (4) energy, water, and soil resources, and (5) compensation for environmental damage. To define the threshold values for classifying individual indicators, we use legal requirements, data from the literature and historical time series. The values obtained for each of the individual indicators were normalized in terms of linguistic criteria, such as unsustainability (1), low sustainability (2) and high sustainability (3). The sustainability index of each of the five categories was calculated and based on these values, we computed the CESI of the physical mining environment. The values presented here represent baselines for further monitoring and evaluating the sustainability of the physical environment, guaranteeing iron ore exploitation in Carajás mining region with minimum environmental impacts. The proposed index can indicate a path towards environmental sustainability, especially in protected areas. • Environmental sustainability evaluation is required for mining in protected areas. • Legal requirements or historical series represent threshold values for evaluation. • Regarding physical environment, Carajás iron mines show moderate-high sustainability. • Values represent baseline for further assessments and comparison with similar projects.