Resource Extraction Research Articles

Riparian zones, serving as critical ecological transition zones between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, are pivotal for sustaining biophysical equilibrium and ecosystem resilience. However, intensive anthropogenic activities (e.g., land conversion, resource extraction) have led to severe degradation of these wetland ecosystems. In this study, ‌combining high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle imagery (DJI Mavic 3E) with ground surveys, we classified riparian vegetation and analyzed the distribution characteristics across six representative river reaches along the Nanliu River in Guangxi, China. Using an object-based image analysis (OBIA) framework combined with a Random Forest Classifier, high-precision vegetation classification was achieved, with Kappa coefficients (0.76-0.82) indicating strong agreement with ground reference data. Results revealed that the vegetation structure was characterized by a predominance of herbaceous species (65% of total cover), complemented by shrubs and trees (35%), exhibiting distinct zonation patterns along the fluvial-perpendicular gradient. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis and Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance (PERMANOVA) test (F = 3.68, p < 0.05) showed that there were significant differences in plant composition among the six selected reaches' riparian zones. Furthermore, invasive species (Mikania micrantha Kunth in Humb. & al., Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. etc.) were identified, posing significant ecological risks to native plant communities and ecosystem functionality. This study provides a detailed characterization of the current vegetation composition and spatial dynamics in the Nanliu River riparian corridors, offering empirical insights for targeted ecological management strategies to enhance plant conservation and guide sustainable ecosystem restoration efforts.

Efficient extraction of subsurface resources relies heavily on the performance of drilling fluids, which necessitates constant innovation in their formulation. This study introduces a novel Polylactic Acid/Henna composite for significant enhancement of drilling fluid properties. The composites was characterized via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), confirming the uniform Henna particles dispersion in PLA matrix. The composite was added to water-based drilling fluids at concentrations of 0.5 wt%, 1 wt%, 2 wt%, 4 wt%, and 10 wt%, followed by rigorous evaluation of rheological and filtration performance. Experimental results demonstrated that fluids containing 2 wt% PLA/Henna composite exhibited the best performance, with a 32% increase in yield point and a 21% improvement in plastic viscosity compared to the base fluid. Furthermore, filtration volume decreased by 42%, while spurt loss was reduced by 35% due to improved filter cake formation. These quantitative improvements optimize fluid efficiency and minimize permeability, enhancing the ability to control fluid loss under simulated drilling conditions. Such enhancements promote better wellbore stability and operational reliability.

As resource extraction extends to greater depths, surrounding rock in deep underground roadways exhibits pronounced creep deformation due to the coupled effects of high in-situ stress and time-dependent behavior. Conventional support systems face significant challenges in maintaining long-term stability under such conditions. This study focuses on the pump station roadway of a mine in North China as a case study and conducts an integrated investigation involving theoretical analysis, physical modeling, and numerical simulation to develop effective creep control strategies. A theoretical framework for creep deformation control is established based on the radial stress gradient mechanism of the surrounding rock. A composite support system-comprising concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) supports, staged grouting, rock bolts, and sprayed concrete-is proposed. Using a self-developed two-dimensional physical modeling apparatus, the deformation and stress evolution of the surrounding rock are systematically compared under unsupported and composite-supported conditions, identifying key deformation zones and dominant creep patterns. Furthermore, a three-dimensional numerical model incorporating a damage-coupled creep constitutive relationship is constructed to evaluate the support system's effectiveness in controlling roof subsidence, sidewall convergence, and plastic zone expansion. Results demonstrate that the CFST-based composite support system significantly mitigates creep-induced instability and enhances long-term roadway stability, offering theoretical and practical guidance for the design and optimization of support systems in deep soft rock roadways.

Food systems in northern Canada are under severe pressure brought on by climate change, colonial policies, resource extraction, settler migration, dispossession from ancestral lands, and changing ways of life. As communities seek to nurture more resilient food systems, agroecology is emerging as a relevant food system framing to address these challenges as it balances new forms of sustainable food production with traditional food practices and connects them to on-going struggles for self-sufficiency and Indigenous food sovereignty. This article showcases insights from a community-driven, food systems planning project in Northwest Territories, Canada that incorporates agroecology rooted in Indigenous values, principles, and Traditional Knowledge of the region. Using participatory action research, the Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (KTFN) designed a vision for their food system structured by the Community Agroecological Values Framework (CAVF). The CAVF, co-created with KTFN, builds on the community capitals framework and northern agroecology dialogues to foster a holistic approach to Indigenous food systems planning. Through a workshop, participatory mapping, and storytelling, community members reflected on existing food projects and provided input on future developments. KTFN used this process to connect their food system with multiple components of agroecology in the North, including land stewardship, sustainable livelihoods, cultural resurgence, social cohesion, good governance, and human capacity, aligning them with Dene values of holistic well-being for people and the environment. This article shares a case study of how KTFN is combining participatory, values- and place-based planning with agroecology to strengthen their food system, advance self-sufficiency, and promote food sovereignty in the face of climate uncertainties.

Abstract Has the global energy transition opened new opportunities for natural resource extraction to foster development? To address this question we propose the concept “developmental extraction” (DE), an intermediate option between neoliberal and anti-extraction. For proponents of DE, mining can be a development-enhancing activity that triggers virtuous economic linkages. Focusing on South America’s Lithium Triangle countries (Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile), we find that the results of DE are mixed, with modest advances in fostering developmental linkages at the local level coupled with uneven outcomes at translocal scales. To explain the contrasting outcomes of DE projects, we offer a multilevel framework that highlights political and territorial challenges of forging developmental linkages. The fortunes of DE depend on the distribution of bargaining power among states, mining companies, and communities and, in turn, on the results of local and translocal negotiations over the terms of extraction.

This paper explores the drivers of land grabbing in pastoral areas. We present a series of cases from across Eastern Africa to illustrate the dynamics through which long-ignored drylands are reimagined by governments and investors as sites of great value, setting the stage for alienation of rangelands at the expense of the pastoral populations who depend on them. Contextualized against the backdrop of colonial and post-colonial development policies, and the ideologies that underpin them, we discuss four resource complexes driving large-scale acquisitions of pastoral lands in East Africa in recent decades: 1) land grabbed via land markets through privatization and subdivision, 2) land acquired for resource extraction, carbon offsetting, and renewable energy production, 3) large-scale alienation of land for commercial agriculture, and 4) land set aside for wildlife conservation (i.e., “green grabbing”). We explore overlapping themes between these four processes that have resulted in the appropriation of pastoral lands, undermined local tenure security, and fragmented landscapes. We highlight in particular bureaucratic dimensions of privatization and land subdivision, reductionist cost-benefit assessments of resource exploitation projects shaped by capitalist logics, the pervasive influence of classical development theory and the associated prioritization of intensified production systems in rural land use policies, and a dualistic Euro-American ideology of nature and society underlying attempts to grab and reclassify pastoral areas for other purposes. Based on these insights, we offer recommendations for ways to mitigate the risks of future land grabs including strengthening pastoral land rights, creating more equitable community-led conservation initiatives, prioritizing participation in development negotiations, and establishing regional policies that support pastoralist livelihoods and maintain rangeland connectivity.

In-Lieu Fee programs are an important mechanism for compensatory mitigation in the United States and received wide-spread standardization after the regulatory mitigation rule change of 2008. On public lands, they are especially important for pooling funds from numerous small-scale impacts that might otherwise go unmitigated. This study examines the use cases of fee program credits on public lands since 2008. Using data from the Regulatory In-Lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System, I analyzed eleven active In-Lieu Fee programs approved post-2008 across 78 service areas, encompassing 1043 credit transactions. Transactions were categorized by credit amount, proportion, target ecosystems, and impact designations. The analysis highlights the influence of residential and commercial development, alongside resource extraction, as major contributors to fee program transactions, underscoring the program’s role in mitigating various development pressures. Residential, commercial, and government projects frequently co-occur within service areas, which can support policy planning to anticipate potential cumulative impacts and expected future impacts and credit demands. Furthermore, my analysis shows that impacts from resource extraction require proportionally larger offsets than those from residential or recreational activities. The findings suggest that programs on public lands can fill a niche distinct from mitigation banks, as they address a multitude of impacts while further allowing for the pooling of resources and funds from small-scale impacts, while the use of advance credits remains contentious for achieving no net loss.

Enhanced selective adsorption of rare earth elements from wastewater using Pinus massoniana-derived carbon-nano zero-valent iron.

From resource reliance to sustainable environmental resilience: A digital-green paradigm for BRICS+ nations.

Natural resource extraction, energy efficiency moderation, and sustainable development in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

ABSTRACT This article theorizes the eco-algorithmic border as a key formation in the convergence of artificial intelligence, environmental governance, and global border regimes. We argue that AI technologies are increasingly deployed to intensify forms of border violence that frame environmental protection as incompatible with human mobility. This alignment enables the consolidation of anti-migrant and climate-sceptical politics under the guise of technological efficiency. The eco-algorithmic border propels environmental imaginaries towards ecofascist narratives, and reinforcers extractive geopolitics and digitally mediated surveillance. The result is a global infrastructure that anticipates and disciplines climate-induced migration—particularly from the Global South—while facilitating planetary-scale resource extraction and national security agendas. Empowered by geo-spatial datasets and cloud infrastructures, the eco-algorithmic border moves towards paralysing genuine environmental and humanitarian activism, while further enhancing environmental and border imperialisms, and the profiling of counter-border actors and bordered subjects.

Although state park and recreation services provide a variety of benefits, agencies operate in an increasingly resource-constrained environment. Because tax-based allocations have failed to keep pace with visitor and infrastructure needs, service providers face increasing pressure to adopt a variety of neoliberal conservation strategies. In this manuscript we examined factors that influence public views toward park-based resource development strategies, including a variety of practices that may be categorized as either extractive or non-extractive in nature. Specifically, we focus on the potential of public trust and place attachment to directly and indirectly influence support for extractive and non-extractive resource development in the context of state-level park and recreation services, with the goal of informing the management of state parks and other protected areas in an era of ongoing and increasing fiscal austerity. To do so, we utilized data from a survey of state park visitors in Pennsylvania and New York State, and applied both regression and mediation analyses. Our results indicate that extractive and non-extractive development activities are viewed differently by the public, with much greater overall support for non-extractive activities; respondents viewed activities that necessarily entail a modification to the park environment as different from those that do not. Our regression analysis indicated that trust based on shared norms and values was significantly related to support for both extractive and non-extractive development, while trust based on perceived organizational capacity was significantly related only to support for non-extractive development. We also found that place dependence was an important factor in the relationship between trust and support for both extractive and non-extractive development practices, acting as a mediator in these relationships; conversely, place identity did not emerge as a mediator in the relationship between trust and development support. Based on these results, we note that decision-makers considering resource development in state park contexts should consider the impact of relationships, between visitors and the agency, as well as between visitors and the parks themselves. Specifically, we recommend prioritizing the development of institutional trust among members of the public, and encourage managers to facilitate functional relationships to place among members of the public.

Abstract Electrocatalysis in water offers a sustainable pathway for synthesizing hydrogen and hydrocarbons, leveraging water as a source of protons and hydroxides. However, the inherent presence of ions in water significantly influences the adsorption of active species, often disrupting electrocatalytic performance. While strategies have advanced to repel interfering ions and mitigate their adverse effects in seawater electrocatalysis, recent findings reveal that certain seawater ions can enhance electrocatalytic processes. This enhancement occurs either by promoting the adsorption of crucial reaction intermediates or by directly participating as reactants. Despite this potential, the underlying mechanisms and practical applications of these ion-involved reactions remain poorly understood and lack systematic evaluation. This review provides a timely appraisal of electrochemical reactions that strategically utilize seawater ions. It highlights recent advancements in methodologies and strategies within this emerging field. Firstly, we delve into the designs and mechanisms enabling chloride utilization in various electrocatalytic reactions. Next, we discuss intelligent protocols for sodium utilization, including asymmetric designs, aqueous alternating, and cascade seawater electrocatalysis. Subsequently, we elucidate the critical role of local pH limitations and the impact of external forces on catalysts for direct seawater electrocatalysis. Finally, the electrochemical extraction of valuable resources like uranium and lithium is summarized, with a focus on innovative electrode modifications and optimized cell configurations.

The development of green mines is essential for promoting sustainability in the mining sector due to the significant ecological impacts of resource extraction. This study proposes a novel hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework that integrates Spherical Fuzzy Sets (SFSs) with SWOT analysis, the CRITIC method, and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA). The framework introduces several innovations: it applies SFS-based MCDM for the first time to green mine evaluation in Egypt, structures 37 sustainability-related criteria under SWOT dimensions, and employs SF-CRITIC for objective weighting without subjective comparisons. The model is applied to assess 20 gold mines, where the SF-GRA method is used to rank alternatives based on proximity to an ideal solution. The results show that GME20 consistently ranks highest, while GME5 ranks lowest. A sensitivity analysis is conducted by varying the Grey relational coefficient and simulating 37 weight scenarios, demonstrating stable rankings and strong model resilience. Comparative analysis against ten SFS-based MCDM methods confirms the consistency of results, with Spearman correlation coefficients exceeding 0.77. In addition to its methodological novelty, the framework supports interpretable decision outcomes by identifying key sustainability drivers such as renewable energy adoption and land reclamation. This contributes actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, enabling informed green investment and regulatory decisions. The study offers a transparent, reproducible, and scalable tool for sustainability evaluation in resource-intensive industries. The proposed model introduces a structured integration of SWOT-based criteria classification, objective weight computation via SF-CRITIC, and robust alternative ranking using SF-GRA. Furthermore, it contributes uniquely by applying the methodology to the underexplored context of green mine evaluation in Egypt. These distinctions articulate the methodological and application-based novelties of the proposed framework.

Coal mining causes significant environmental disruptions due to excessive resource extraction. Real-time monitoring and prediction of mining-induced surface deformation are critical for ensuring mining safety. Conventional monitoring methods struggle to achieve large-scale real-time observation and have limitations in terrain adaptability and weather resistance. Conventional prediction methods are constrained as follows: numerical simulation is limited by the complexity of physical parameters; mathematical statistics requires substantial data and struggles to comprehensively reflect geotechnical properties; hybrid algorithms involve complex modeling and rely on individual models. This study develops an integrated framework combining Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) and Bayesian optimization-Prophet (BO-Prophet) models for mining subsidence monitoring and forecasting. Using the Yinying Coal Mine as the study area, multi-source radar datasets are processed through SBAS-InSAR. This technique identifies four major subsidence areas and generates time-series deformation data. Cross-validation confirms the reliability of SBAS-InSAR monitoring results: the Pearson correlation coefficient between ascending-orbit (Sentinel-1A) and descending-orbit (Radarsat-2) results of 3,000 high-coherence points in the subsidence area reaches 0.946; compared with four Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations, the maximum absolute errors are 4.684, 3.328, 3.194, and 2.462 mm respectively, with consistent deformation trends, and both methods confirm its reliability. Comparative analysis reveals superior prediction accuracy of the BO-Prophet model over Bayesian optimization-long short-term memory (BO-LSTM) at six characteristic points. The BO-Prophet model achieves a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.02 mm, representing a 25.2% reduction from BO-LSTM (2.70 mm). Its root mean square error (RMSE) measures 2.36 mm, demonstrating a 35.6% reduction compared to BO-LSTM (3.67 mm). Subsidence predictions for area B using BO-Prophet show high spatial-temporal consistency with SBAS-InSAR monitoring results. Correlation analysis demonstrates a correlation coefficient (R²) exceeding 0.96 between predicted and observed values. The integration of SBAS-InSAR and BO-Prophet shows strong potential for mining subsidence monitoring and forecasting. This combined approach enhances early warning capabilities and supports disaster mitigation strategies in mining areas.

The ‘future of work’ in manufacturing or similarly positioned ‘productive’ sectors is an increasing public and academic concern. Debate tends to polarize between anxious and dystopic accounts that explore the threat of technological change to existing industries and celebratory, optimistic accounts that focus on the ambitious promises of possible futures. In response, a critical labour studies scholarship has argued that these narratives tend to be overly determined by conversations about technology and less focused on how technological transformation has historically and will continue to exacerbate, reinscribe, or reshape existing exclusions within labour markets and workplaces. These optimistic narratives also fail to address the non-technological drivers of the global restructuring of work and employment, in particular the way the current realities of work are rooted in (neo)colonial, racialized, and gendered histories and presents of exploitation, resource extraction, and social reproduction. Drawing on five empirical contributions from a variety of industrial contexts across the Global South and North, this special issue deepens our understanding of how ‘future of work’ discourses and practices, including efforts (and desires) to automate and innovate, impact and coexist with industries and labour relations that have hitherto been slow to automate, remain un-automated, or are resistant to technological change.

Abstract This article provides a multi-scalar analysis of Chile’s development trajectory, demonstrating that its historical dependency on resource extraction has evolved into a resilient and complex financialised extractivist lock-in from 1940 to 2022. Using Bai-Perron structural break analysis and regional Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we reveal how the national economy transitioned from a primary-export model to one where a dependent service sector reinforces the extractive core. This reconfiguration has produced a territorially polarised landscape of extraction and accumulation zones. We argue that this lock-in is perpetuated by a deep-seated rentier logic and modern governance mechanisms like public–private partnerships, which structurally limit diversification.

In response to the problems of uplift and settlement of underground soil layer in slope areas caused by urbanization and intensified resource extraction activities, this study proposes an intelligent composite strain sensing tube based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with four-quadrant cavity segmentation. This device is designed to monitor the deformation and displacement evolution processes of soil, and obtain data by real-time monitoring of the wavelength changes of Bragg gratings. In the experimental setup, external forces are applied to vary the pulling displacement under different overburden thicknesses (0, 1, 3, and 5 cm), thereby simulating slope uplift and settlement at various soil depths. The results show that under different overburden thicknesses, the strain (displacement) transfer law of the FBG strain tube shows a trend of gradually decreasing from the fixed end to both ends of the pulling device. To improve the measurement accuracy, temperature compensation measures (adding a loosely installed grating near the sensing grating) were introduced in the experiment. In addition, to improve the accuracy of strain-displacement data, this study proposes a strain-displacement conversion method based on a sequence-to-sequence (Seq2Seq) model to predict the uplift and settlement displacements of pipelines, and uses a random forest algorithm to classify and verify the prediction results. The average error between the model prediction value and the actual value is about 0.22 mm. The success rate of regression prediction for soil uplift and settlement displacement reaches 97.88%, and the prediction accuracy is as high as 99.23%. This FBG Haversian strain tube has the advantages of convenient operation and high displacement sensitivity, and is expected to be applied to the actual deep displacement monitoring of slopes in the future to prevent road uplift and settlement disasters.

This review investigates the potential for reforming European Union development aid policies to serve as strategic investment incentives that promote sustainable mining operations in Africa, moving beyond traditional donor-recipient models toward mutually beneficial economic partnerships that secure critical mineral resources for Europe while fostering African economic independence. Existing literature on EU-Africa development aid primarily focuses on humanitarian assistance and governance reforms, with insufficient attention to how aid policies could systematically incentivize European mining investments in African mineral sectors. Current research lacks comprehensive analysis of policy mechanisms that could transform development aid into investment-driven tools for sustainable resource extraction partnerships. This review employs qualitative analysis through systematic review of scholarly articles, policy reports, and case studies from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The research examines sources published within the past decade, analyzing EU development projects in African mining sectors, contemporary aid policies, and their effectiveness in supporting sustainable mining activities and economic outcomes for both European and African stakeholders. Results indicate that effective policy reforms should integrate economic incentives with environmental safeguards, transforming aid into both investment foundations and sustainability instruments. The review identifies four critical reform areas: dual incentive frameworks combining fiscal benefits with sustainability requirements, performance-based funding systems replacing traditional aid models, large-scale infrastructure and education investments, and enhanced governance mechanisms ensuring transparent, accountable mining operations that benefit local communities while securing European mineral supply chains.

The aim of this study is to analyze the environmental impacts of industrialization, natural resource rent and energy intensity in the 27 EU Member States over the period 2000–2021 and to assess the impact of these factors on CO 2 emissions in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). For this purpose, marginal and dynamic relationships between variables are empirically investigated using Kernel-Based Regularized Least Squares (KRLS), nonparametric Simultaneous Quantile Regression (SQREG), and (GMM). The results of the study indicate that industrialization increases carbon intensity through energy intensity in EU countries with medium and high carbon intensity. Natural resource rent is found to be significantly detrimental to the environment at all quantiles. In EU countries, the majority of which are developed countries, economic growth and urbanization have been shown to reduce carbon intensity and support a green environment. On the other hand, renewable energy has been found to improve the environment at all quantiles. For the EU to accelerate its green transformation, policymakers must prioritize energy security. It must also integrate renewable energy into industry and natural resource extraction and reduce fossil fuel use.