How to Advance Sustainable Mining

The policy brief examines the environmental and social costs of mining, the limitations of international and domestic governance, and the potential for public-private partnerships and the UN Sustainable Development Goals to create more sustainable mining practices.

• Mining operations cause severe environmental damage, including deforestation, soil and water contamination, and habitat fragmentation. The disposal of tailings is identified as the most significant environmental impact, with some mines producing over 200,000 tonnes of tailings daily.
• Mining often leads to a "resource curse" in developing countries, where over-exploitation and weak governance result in host communities falling into deeper poverty once mineral resources are depleted and revenues drop.
• International mining governance is limited by the principle of national sovereignty over natural resources, which was codified in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration and reiterated in the 1992 Rio Declaration.
• While international treaties exist to protect human rights, the environment, and regulate hazardous waste, they often lack the strength of investment treaties, which primarily protect the economic interests of investors rather than local people or the environment.
• Domestic regulation faces significant hurdles in implementation, including a lack of political will, insufficient penalties, and corruption in the allocation of community benefit projects.
• Innovative public-private partnerships and the integration of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can mitigate negative impacts. An example is the 20MW solar plant at Semafo’s Mana mine in Burkina Faso, which provides energy to the mine and the national grid.

APA

(Dr.),, S. M. (2021). How to Advance Sustainable Mining. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/how-advance-sustainable-mining

Chicago

(Dr.),, Suzi Malan. How to Advance Sustainable Mining. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/how-advance-sustainable-mining.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=(Dr.), |first1=Suzi Malan |title=How to Advance Sustainable Mining |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=18 October 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/how-advance-sustainable-mining |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dr2021how, author = {(Dr.),, Suzi Malan}, title = {{How to Advance Sustainable Mining}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/how-advance-sustainable-mining}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }