RT Journal Article
T1 Constructing soils for climate-smart mining
A1 Ruiz, Francisco
A1 Safanelli, José Lucas
A1 Perlatti, Fabio
A1 Cherubin, Mauricio Roberto
A1 Demattê, José A. M.
A1 Pellegrino Cerri, Carlos Eduardo
A1 Otero Pérez, Xosé Lois
A1 Rumpel, Cornelia
A1 Ferreira, Tiago Osório
AB Surface mining is inherently linked to climate change, but more precise monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is necessary. 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 CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) will be emitted due to the loss of vegetation (0.87 Gt CO2eq) and soil (1.68 Gt CO2eq). To offset these emissions, we propose constructing soils (Technosols) from mine and other wastes for mine reclamation. We show that this strategy could potentially offset up to 60% (1.00 Gt CO2eq) of soil-related CO2 emissions. When constructed with suitable parent materials, Technosols can also restore important soil-related ecosystem services while improving waste management. 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.
PB Springer Nature
SN 2662-4435
YR 2023
FD 2023-06-19
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/39265
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/39265
LA eng
NO Ruiz, F., Safanelli, J.L., Perlatti, F. et al. Constructing soils for climate-smart mining. Commun Earth Environ 4, 219 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00862-x
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026