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Can nature truly recover on land that’s been mined? Many would understandably think the answer to this question is a worry-filled ‘no’, but I saw firsthand how one mine in the Amazon is showing that with a little thought, it can not only recover but truly thrive.
ICMM member Hydro operates the Paragominas mine in the Para state of Brazil. It produces bauxite, a deep-red coloured rock that is used to make alumina, which is turned into the aluminium used to make cars and planes, build homes, and store food.
Like the layers of a cake, bauxite naturally occurs as a ‘seam’ sandwiched between rows of clay, mud, and rock. Found in Paragominas at depths of around 15 meters, it is reached by first removing the trees and soil followed by a layer of clay. Once the bauxite is harvested, the resulting ‘hole’ is built back up with natural material.
"Thanks to tailings dry backfilling and their commitment to restoration, the Hydro Paragominas mine ensures that for every hectare disturbed by mining, a hectare of forest is restored."
This is how almost all bauxite is mined at scale, but Hydro has put thought and resources to significantly improve the sustainability of the process. Instead of piling high into tailings dams, the slurry-type mixture of clay, rock and water generated when the bauxite is initially processed is spread out in a carefully planned way. This allows the mixture to dry within 30-60 days (the heat of the Amazon helps!), at the end of which it is used to safely back-fill the area that was mined.
This process, known as tailings dry backfilling, is a first for the industry and is an elegant example of the circular economy in action. Not only does it ensure that mined land is restored with the same naturally occurring material, it all but eliminates the need for traditional tailings dams.
The cherry on this bauxite cake comes in the way that the plants are restored. The soil and plants removed at the first step were carefully preserved and are now re-introduced in three ways, depending on the type of vegetation. First, traditional, manual planting of the same types of plants as existed before which then take root and grow. Second, leaving an area undisturbed for a natural process of regeneration to take hold. Finally, a process called ‘nucleation’ where wood and plant-seed are placed in carefully spaced-out ‘clumps’ which grow and fill the space.
The result, which I was able to see, smell, taste, and touch for myself, is forests thriving on mined land which are virtually indistinguishable from those that hadn’t been disturbed by mining. They are indistinguishable not only to the naked eye, but also by the number, quality and health of the plants and animals – including the apex predator of the jungle, the Jaguar – based on scientific data and evidence.
Thanks to tailings dry backfilling and their commitment to restoration, the Hydro Paragominas mine ensures that for every hectare disturbed by mining, a hectare of forest is restored. This is the foundation on which the mine’s broader contributions to the unique nature and people of the Amazon is built, including significant additional investments in social and economic programmes and conservation and restoration beyond the mine fence.
Like anyone who loves nature, I dream of a planet where plants and animals thrive undisturbed by industrial intervention. Knowing that is neither fair to the people whose economic lives are positively transformed by mining nor practical given the importance of metals in our everyday lives, the Hydro Paragominas mine represents the next best outcome; responsible mining, in harmony with nature and people.
