The mining and processing of minerals provides us with the building blocks required to form much of the infrastructure needed to support modern societies. However, the process of mining remains intense and invasive, and operations often leave large environmental impacts on the local surroundings as well as wider implications for the environmental health of the planet.
Which do you consider to be the major types of mining impact?
- Geochemical impacts to water and soils
- Hazardous chemicals (e.g., cyanide)
- Hydrologic impacts
- Erosion, sedimentation of waterways
- Air emissions
- Physical land impacts (subsidence, landslides)
- Waste impoundment failures
- Biodiversity and habitat impacts
The MINEYE project’s overall ambition is to increase access to critical and strategic minerals and metals in Europe while also considering environmental and social impacts, by providing the mining industry with proven and validated solutions for the uptake of Earth Observation data and technology. The challenge of reducing the environmental impacts of mining will be achieved by developing new Earth Observation methods and tools for the entire mining value chain.
