That would be illegal in Brazil, Ecuador and even China, which stipulates a one-kilometre gap between a tailings dam and a population centre, Dr Emerman said. The risk of failure at a saturated dam in Spain is "equivalent to an annual round of Russian roulette," he said.Ī lithium mine project in Portugal includes a design for a 193-metre high tailings dam that is "highly experimental" and an example of "reckless creativity".Ī copper project in Spain plans an 81-metre high dam located on a steep slope at less than 200 metres above a village.
His testimony to the hearing cited several instances of suboptimal dam maintenance and planning. Society on Dams and has formidable expertise on tailings dams, where mine waste is stored. He also chairs the Body of Knowledge Subcommittee of the U.S. He is a geophysics expert with qualifications from Princeton and Cornell Universities, 31 years teaching experience and 70 peer-reviewed publications. Emerman said.ĭr Emerman is not your typical eco-warrior. 24 parliamentary resolution on critical materials that mining in the EU is subject to the highest environmental and social standards "is not true in theory and it is not true in fact," Dr Steven H. 2 public hearing of the European Parliament.
However, Europe's environmental credentials came in for some sharp criticism at a Dec. The European Commission has placed sustainable and responsible extraction at the heart of the bloc's green minerals policy. It's a big problem, given Europe's Green Deal will be driven by metals such as lithium and copper and policy-makers want more of them to be produced locally. There are 19 metal "mining conflicts" in the European Union (EU), which does not include Balkan states such as Serbia, a research paper published last year by the Geographical Society of Finland said.