![]() ![]() Moreover, Technosols have the potential to accumulate significant amounts of carbon 21, although their ability to recover ecosystem carbon stocks on a large scale has yet to be evaluated. These soils, known as Technosols, can help address many environmental problems related to mining, including soil pollution, loss of fertility and biodiversity 17, 18, 19, 20. One emerging strategy for post-mine reclamation is the (re)construction of soils using mine waste and other residues, such as domestic and industrial waste 13, 14, 15, 16. Thus, new strategies to offset these emissions are crucial for promoting greener mining, particularly in continental countries like Brazil. In this context, future CO 2 emissions from soil and vegetation removal during surface mining will have significant consequences for climate change. Soils can contain up to three times more carbon than vegetation and can play a significant role in carbon sequestration 12. However, this is an underestimation because it only considers vegetation and excludes soils. As evidenced by Brazil’s Fourth National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), the carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions related to vegetation removal for mining have increased since the 1990s, with 8.9 Mt of CO 2 equivalent (CO 2eq) emitted in 2016 alone, which is equivalent to 0.4% of the country’s total CO 2 annual emissions. This type of mining involves the complete removal of soil and vegetation, causing a loss of ecosystem carbon stocks through the oxidation of organic matter 9, 10, 11. Surface mining is the most used method for ore exploration, accounting for more than 80% of explored ore per year 8. However, to date, only emissions related to fuel and electricity consumption for mineral exploration have been assessed, whereas indirect emissions (for example, from soil and vegetation removal) have largely been ignored 7. ![]() Therefore, in order to restrict the harmful effects of mining, it will be necessary to monitor and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts associated with this activity 6. In the pursuit of cleaner energy production, mining activities are expected to increase since current renewable energy strategies depend on further ore extraction (for example, lithium for electric car batteries and silver for electric conductors) 5. The mitigation of climate change is a pressing concern for the United Nations. To achieve these goals, joint efforts between the scientific community and the industry are necessary. This situation has increased the urgency for mining companies to align with the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demanding the implementation of cleaner production methods that prioritize social and environmental sustainability. In Brazil, poor waste management practices have resulted in some of the world’s largest mining disasters with high human, economic, and environmental costs, such as the Mariana and Brumadinho dam collapses). Although mining is pivotal for economic development, it is also known as one of the most harmful anthropogenic activities, causing large-scale ecosystem degradation, such as pollution of soil and water, and loss of biodiversity 2, 3, 4. Currently, Brazil ranks as the 9 th largest producer of mineral commodities 1, and its economy relies heavily on the mining industry as the foundation of the manufacturing sector. The construction of healthy Technosols stands out as a promising nature-based solution towards carbon-neutral mining and should, therefore, be considered in future environmental policies of major mining countries.īrazil is a country of continental scale with a vast diversity of mineral reserves where mining has been carried out since colonial times in the early 1700s. When constructed with suitable parent materials, Technosols can also restore important soil-related ecosystem services while improving waste management. ![]() We show that this strategy could potentially offset up to 60% (1.00 Gt CO 2eq) of soil-related CO 2 emissions. To offset these emissions, we propose constructing soils (Technosols) from mine and other wastes for mine reclamation. Here we combined the geolocation of mine sites and carbon stock datasets to show that if all legal active mining sites in Brazil are exploited over the next decades, 2.55 Gt of CO 2 equivalent (CO 2eq) will be emitted due to the loss of vegetation (0.87 Gt CO 2eq) and soil (1.68 Gt CO 2eq). Surface mining is inherently linked to climate change, but more precise monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions is necessary. ![]()
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