Abandoned mines also contribute to long- lasting environmental degradation, as acid-mine drainage can pollute groundwater and surface water. Accountability for closure and rehabilitation of operational or new mines is now clearer, however, impacts on nature arise from a historical legacy of inadequate, insufficient or non-existent mine closure. The lack of clearly assigned (or assumed) responsibility for old mines, alongside other factors, has resulted in delayed action from all parties, including industry, governments and communities.125 Pollution can also impact local communities as impacts spread over large spatial footprints through the release of particles, which can cause health problems,126 contamination of drinking water and the contamination of local wild animal populations, affecting food sources for communities.127,128 At least 23 million people currently live on floodplains that are contaminated by potentially harmful concentrations of toxic waste from metal mining activities.129 Industrial disasters in the mining industry have also had catastrophic environmental and social impacts over the last decade. These include the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019, where Vale’s iron ore tailings dam collapsed, taking the lives of over 270 people, and the Mariana dam disaster in 2015, which released water and mine waste that travelled over 500 km along the Doce River to the Atlantic coast.130 In 2014, the Canadian Mount Polley mine tailings pond broke and released 25 billion litres of contaminated materials into Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake.131 Such events have reinforced the need for stronger international standards on tailings management and regulatory governance. The Investor Mining and Tailings Initiative (IMTSI), a coalition of over 100 investors with more than $25 trillion in assets under management, was founded in 2019, calling for the development of a Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GITSM).132 This standard has now been endorsed by over half of the mining sector,133 and a new independent body, the Global Tailings Management Institute, was established in 2023 to oversee implementation.134 Many rights holders and stakeholders contend that current industry standards, including the GITSM, do not go far enough to adequately protect communities and ecosystems from failures. In 2022, 164 mining- impacted communities, Indigenous governments, academics, scientists, human rights and environmental rights organizations developed a set of 17 guidelines for responsible tailings management, which promote respect for impacted communities and stronger corporate accountability.135 2.4 Water abstraction The mining and metals sector uses water across its entire value chain and has a CDP Water Watch impact rating of “critical” (highest category).136 Mining activities abstract and use freshwater (groundwater and surface water) alongside alternative water sources, such as seawater and greywater, for a range of activities. These include ore processing and refining to separate valuable metals and minerals via chemical and physical processes such as froth flotation; centrifugal separation, leaching and electrochemistry; dust suppression during mining operations for mineral processing and around conveyors and roads; cooling and lubrication of machinery to maintain longevity by reducing wear and preventing overheating; and slurry transport to tailings dams for disposal and storage. Water use intensity can vary significantly by commodity. For example, lithium and rare earth elements use 0.64-0.78 cubic metres At least 23 million people currently live on floodplains that are contaminated by potentially harmful concentrations of toxic waste from metal mining activities. Nature Positive: Role of the Mining and Metals Sector 25

Nature Positive Role of the Mining and Metals Sector