Terrestrial Ecosystem Impacts of Sulfide Mining: Scope of Issues for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota, USA

Abstract

Large-scale metal mining operations are planned or underway in many locations across the boreal forest biome in North America, Europe, and Asia. Although many published analyses of mining impacts on water quality in boreal landscapes are available, there is little guidance regarding terrestrial impacts. Scoping of potential impacts of Cu-Ni exploration and mining in sulfide ores are presented for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), Minnesota USA, an area of mostly boreal forest on thin soils and granitic bedrock. Although the primary footprint of the proposed mines would be outside the BWCAW, displacement and fragmentation of forest ecosystems would cause spatial propagation of effects into a secondary footprint within the wilderness. Potential negative impacts include disruption of population dynamics for wildlife species with migration routes, or metapopulations of plant species that span the wilderness boundary, and establishment of invasive species outside the wilderness that could invade the wilderness. Due to linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, acid mine drainage can impact lowland forests, which are highly dependent on chemistry of water flowing through them. The expected extremes in precipitation and temperature due to warming climate can also interact with mining impacts to reduce the resilience of forests to disturbance caused by mining.

Vegetation- and Environmental Changes on Non-Reclaimed Spoil Heaps in Southern Poland

“…Studies of the impacts of mining on various measures of environmental quality and reclamation, for cases with coal mine drainage, open-pit, and underground iron mining, have been published for different ecosystems around the world [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Furthermore, there is a larger amount of ecological knowledge that can be synthesized to scope mining-related issues related to terrestrial impacts of mining that have previously received little attention.…”

“…The primary traces is the area directly influenced by the mine(s), processing/rock crushing facilities, tailings areas, buildings, roads, parking lots, and energy transmission network built to accommodate the mines and workers. Some of these impacts are well known, for example, mined soils have higher bulk density and lower porosity, and therefore more erosion and road networks built for mines are a major contribution to changes in ecological and geochemical processes [ 5 , 12 ]. Although most of the studies done to date have concentrated on aquatic impacts, there is a smaller but still significant body of knowledge of mining impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.…”

“…It concerns the removal of vegetation and the destruction of terrestrial ecosystem and their components such as water network, soil cover, and changes in relief of terrain. Natural resource mining has one of the strongest impacts among all industries, distorting the natural environment globally [5,6] and often causing it to lose its ecological functions [7] as habitat loss and defragmentation. This history of mining has left a lasting legacy on the landscape in the form of mine buildings, coal dumps, tailings, mine shafts, sedimentation tanks, and other anthropogenic surface relief, which can be seen even in the centers of the cities in the many regions.…”

Environmental Impacts: Local Perspectives of Selected Mining Edge Communities in Sierra Leone

“…Results indicate that mining could be a significant driver of forest loss in the areas, both within and outside mining leases. Frelich [27] reported that mineral extraction would actively eliminate forests and eventually alter the structure of land left within the primary vegetation, so these consequences would apply to the secondary vegetation, the extent of which would depend on the number of acres involved. A report by U.S Aid indicated that between 1975 and 2013, an average of 30% of Sierra Leone forest or around 1100km 2 had been degraded [28].…”

Evaluation of the Impact on the Environment at Building and Reconstruction of Motorways Using the System Analysis Method

“…Thus, evaluation of the impact of the motorization processes on the environment is the tool to determine the impact. The direct negative impact of the transport system occurs at the increased noise, radiance, emission of harmful substances (Anpilova et al, 2020) and road accidents (Frelich, 2019;Transportation Research Board, 2005). The indirect impact of vehicles is reflected in the fact that the car yearly takes more and more space essential for a human.…”