yà mǎ sūn亚马孙yǔ lín雨林miàn lín面临cǎi kuàng采矿wū rǎn污染fēng xiǎn风险
To make products such as batteries, mobile phones, and artificial intelligence devices, global demand for minerals such as copper, lithium, tin, and rare earth elements is steadily increasing.
Brazil’s Amazon region contains large reserves of many of these minerals, so more mines may be developed there.
However, mining requires forests to be cleared and roads to be built. It can also attract more people into the rainforest, causing further damage.
Some minerals occur together with radioactive substances such as uranium.
When ore is blasted and processed, toxic dust, wastewater, and heavy metals may enter the air, soil, and rivers.
Large amounts of mining waste are usually stored in ponds held back by dams; if a dam is damaged, pollutants can quickly flow downstream.
Similar accidents have already occurred in other regions, affecting residents’ health, fisheries, and agriculture.
The Amazon receives a great deal of rain, so the risks of leaks and dam failures deserve even more attention.
Clean energy development needs minerals, but mining must also protect forests, rivers, and local Indigenous peoples, while mining waste must be managed safely over the long term.