Miners are razing forests to meet surging demand for metals and minerals, report says

Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A report by the World Resources Institute shows that rapidly expanding mining operations are causing widespread destruction of tropical primary rainforests and protected areas, raising carbon emissions and displacing Indigenous communities. An analysis from the global nonprofit organization released Wednesday shows that the world lost nearly 1.4 million hectares (nearly 3.5 million acres) of trees due to mining in 2001-2020. Coal and gold mining have been the biggest drivers of tree cover loss related to mining. But increasingly, extraction of critical materials for everyday items like smartphones and renewable energy, such as cobalt and lithium, are driving growth of the mining sector.