Safeguards will be disregarded to meet short term demand --- magnifies pollution and causes deforestation and bio-d loss

Cho, 23 (APRIL 5, 2023, Renee, “The Energy Transition Will Need More Rare Earth Elements. Can We Secure Them Sustainably?” https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2023/04/05/the-energy-transition-will-need-more-rare-earth-elements-can-we-secure-them-sustainably/, JMP))

Mining’s environmental impacts

Mining often causes pollution of land, water, and air, spread of toxic wastes, water depletion, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and social disruption. Despite the fact that it is subject to federal and state environmental regulations, metal mining is the number one toxic polluter in the U.S.

It’s difficult to mine rare earth elements without causing environmental damage because of how they are extracted. One method involves removing topsoil, then creating a leaching pool where chemicals are used to separate out the rare earth elements from the ore. The toxic chemicals can seep into groundwater, cause erosion, and pollute the air. Another technique is to drill into the ground and use PVC pipes and hoses to pump chemicals into the earth. The resulting mix is then pumped into leaching ponds for separation, creating the same environmental problems.

In addition, because rare earth elements are often found near radioactive thorium and uranium, the waste left after rare earth elements are separated from the ore—tailings—contains chemicals, salts, and radioactive materials. Tailings are usually stored in ponds which can leak and contaminate water resources.

The Harvard International Review reported that mining to produce one ton of rare earth elements results in nearly 30 poundsof dust, 9,600-12,000 cubic meters of waste gas including substances such as hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide, 75 cubic meters of wastewater, and one ton of radioactive residue—2,000 tons of toxic waste altogether.

The world’s largest rare earth element mine, Bayan-Obo in China, produced over 70,000 tons of radioactive thorium waste which is stored in a tailing pond that has leaked into groundwater.

The soil and water in Baotouin Inner Mongolia, China— considered the world’s rare earth capital—is polluted with arsenic and fluorite due to mining. This has caused skeletal fluorosis and chronic arsenic toxicity in the population. In Jiangxi Province, which was also polluted by rare earth element mining, experts say it could take 50 to 100 years to clean up the damage and restore the environment.

Mining for other minerals such as cobalt (needed for EV batteries) is polluting as well. The extraction process releases sulfides into the air and water, forming sulfuric acid. This acidic water can pollute streams or leach into groundwater. One mine in the Idaho Cobalt Belt that extracted cobalt, silver, and copper ore contaminated the area and a Salmon River tributary; it is now a Superfund site.

How can we supply the energy transition more sustainably?

With the growing demand for rare earth elements and critical minerals, mining practices that harm the environment will likely continue, if not increase.

“The pressure is such that that the first thing that might be disregarded and marginalized are the safeguards in order to fast track the process—environmental safeguards and social safeguards,” said Perrine Toledano, director of research and policy at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, a joint center of the Columbia Climate School and Columbia Law School. “We know that there is a lot of pressure going on in some countries, in Africa and elsewhere, meaning that the governments may not have time to use due process. So that might set us back on sustainability.”

Fortunately, researchers are working on ways to make mining more sustainable or unnecessary. Here are some examples — most of which are still experimental and not yet ready for large-scale application.