Priority Actions for the Private Sector: Mining & Mineral Supply Chains

The report outlines a framework for the mining sector to mitigate its impact on forests, emphasizing a 'nature-positive' approach. It details cross-cutting principles for all companies and specific mandates for upstream operators (e.g., protecting restricted areas and ensuring FPIC), midstream processors (e.g., implementing traceability), and downstream manufacturers (e.g., mandating mine-of-origin disclosure and designing for circularity). The goal is to align the mineral value chain with the 2030 Global Forest Vision to protect high-integrity ecosystems and Indigenous rights.

• The mining sector's impact on forests is significant, with specific examples including gold mining in the Amazon causing over 2 million hectares of deforestation by 2024, artisanal mining driving 6.6% of forest loss in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001-2020), and nickel open-pit mining in Indonesia causing at least 75,000 hectares of forest loss (2001-2022).
• Upstream companies are urged to implement a 'restricted areas' policy to protect high-conservation value areas, including Intact Forest Landscapes, Key Biodiversity Areas, and Indigenous territories, and to ensure Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) as a continuous process throughout the project cycle.
• Midstream companies should utilize traceability systems and contractual leverage to exclude minerals linked to illegal mining or deforestation, specifically targeting aggregation and blending points where traceability is often lost.
• Downstream companies are encouraged to use their market leverage to mandate mine-of-origin traceability for high-risk minerals such as nickel, cobalt, and copper, ideally within a two-year timeframe.
• The report advocates for a transition toward circularity to reduce the demand for new mineral extraction, suggesting that changing mobility patterns in the European Union could reduce the demand for transition minerals and associated deforestation risks.
• The mining sector has a potential economic opportunity to unlock more than USD 430 billion of value by 2030 through the adoption of nature-positive actions and rigorous social and environmental safeguards.

APA

Forest Declaration Assessment (2026). Priority Actions for the Private Sector: Mining & Mineral Supply Chains. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2030Vision-MiningMinerals.pdf

Chicago

Forest Declaration Assessment. Priority Actions for the Private Sector: Mining & Mineral Supply Chains. 2026. https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2030Vision-MiningMinerals.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forest Declaration Assessment |title=Priority Actions for the Private Sector: Mining & Mineral Supply Chains |date=June 2026 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2030Vision-MiningMinerals.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forestdeclarationassessment2026priority, author = {{Forest Declaration Assessment}}, title = {{Priority Actions for the Private Sector: Mining \& Mineral Supply Chains}}, institution = {Forest Declaration Assessment}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2030Vision-MiningMinerals.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }