Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals An Atlas

Integrate SDG14 into core business
Incorporating “downstream” and marine impacts
into environmental assessments.
Company environmental impact assessments should
consider effects on life underwater and the connectivity
of ecosystems from watershed to ocean floor. Tailings
disposal – whether terrestrial or marine – represents a
major mining-related challenge for life below water and
the life that depends on water and marine
environments. Submerging mine tailings underwater
prevents sulphide minerals (if present) from oxidizing
and creating sulphuric acid. In the event that sulphidic
tailings are exposed to oxidizing conditions, acid rock
drainage may result and potentially leak into and
contaminate water supplies. Tailings dams may also
collapse. In both cases, entire underwater ecosystems,
and all life that depends on them, may be polluted and
potentially rendered uninhabitable. 114 While submarine
tailings burial reduces the possibility of acid drainage, it
also introduces the risk that high concentrations of
dissolved metals could harm underwater ecosystems
that many, including humans, may rely on for food. The
importance of elevated environmental precautions for
mine waste disposal, especially near water bodies,
cannot be understated.
Identifying social impacts and relationships to
marine resources.
Company impact assessments should recognize the
rights and livelihoods of communities who depend on
marine resources and include them in consultation and
social impact management planning. Assessments can
not only consider the direct impacts of company
infrastructure on marine-based livelihoods, but also the
indirect impacts and expectations that may arise. For
example, in some places, traditional fishing livelihoods
are under pressure as fish stocks decline or move
farther off shore. Nearby company operations may not
directly impact these communities or their marine
resources, but companies may be subject to high
expectations from communities to contribute to their
livelihood transition by providing access to jobs and
social investment programmes.
Mining the seafloor.
As terrestrial mineral resources decline in grade, deepsea
mining is becoming potentially attractive. Metal
concentrations in some seafloor deposits may
represent substantially better sources for mineral
extraction from a material and energy-efficiency
perspective. However, the potential environmental
impacts of deep-sea mining are still being investigated,
and include the risk of releasing increased quantities of
toxic materials into the ocean, as well as the agitation
of sediment, which itself can adversely affect marine
organisms if not properly managed. This is a critical
consideration, especially for governments of small
island developing states that depend on marine life for
much of their food supply, but who also see potential
economic opportunity in deep-sea mining. 115
Collaborate and leverage
Companies can collaborate with government, local
communities and other stakeholders to research,
protect and discuss the balanced use of marine
resources.
Establishing marine conservation areas and
contributing to research and planning.
Mining companies operating near coastlines and large
bodies of water can take a practical approach to
maintaining underwater biodiversity by collaborating
with government and communities to set aside
conservation areas and marine reserves. Companies
with activities near fisheries, fish migration routes or
fish breeding grounds can make contributions to
ensure that these areas remain protected. Companies
operating in coastal areas can work with other
stakeholders to develop integrated coastal zone
management plans and support ecosystem monitoring
and assessment capacity.
Case studies and initiatives
Subsea tailings disposal: Turkey.
At First Quantum Minerals’ Cayeli underground copper-zinc
mine in Turkey, the company backfills half the mine tailings
underground and discharges the other half into the anoxic
zone at the bottom of the nearby Black Sea. The discharge
is done in accordance with Turkish regulations, and a
comprehensive third-party scientific monitoring programme
is in place to ensure that the tailings do not negatively
impact life in the sea. The area is known to produce about
half of Turkish sea fish and a quarter of Turkish shell fish.
Because there is no oxygen at this depth, tailings do not
oxidize and therefore do not produce acid. Long-term
monitoring shows no change in water quality resulting from
tailings discharge. 116
Protecting coral reefs at a liquid natural gas terminal:
Yemen.
To protect a coral reef at its liquid natural gas processing
and shipping terminal in the Gulf of Aden, Yemen LNG
partnered with the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature and environmental NGO Earthmind to conduct
the first large-scale coral transplantation in the world. 117
Before clearing a path for the terminal infrastructure, the
group conducted baseline studies around the reef. It then
transported nearly 1,500 coral colonies 600-800 meters
away where they would not be disturbed. Large silt curtains
were used to protect the corals from sediment, and dive
teams vacuumed the remaining sediment off the corals
after the terminal construction was finished. Today, Yemen
LNG manages the site as a marine exclusion zone and
verified conservation area, protecting it from fishing and
118, 119
preserving the delicate marine ecosystem.
Selected resources
Conservation International, 2016. Climate Solution:
Blue Carbon
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