In Data: Mining disputes rising amid rush for critical minerals

MEXICO CITY - There is growing opposition to the exploitation of critical minerals like cobalt and lithium, according to research by the Institute of Development Studies, a research organization affiliated with the University of Sussex in Britain.

The study comes as the global race intensifies to secure those minerals for the clean energy transition.

It said there were 36,017 mining-related "conflicts", ranging from minor disruptions to violence, in the world between 2015 and 2022 spanning the globe.

"Opposition to mineral extraction is a pervasive global phenomenon, spanning diverse sociopolitical contexts and posing major challenges for the political sustainability of the energy transition," said the unpublished research, a copy which was obtained by Context.

Much of the opposition to mining was led by Indigenous and marginalized communities, who are often excluded from decision-making and are particularly vulnerable as untapped mineral deposits are often located on their lands, the study said.

Mining projects can often threaten their local environment and source of income through deforestation and restricting access to natural resources, such as water.

The highest number of conflicts occurred in North America, where there were 12,234 mining-related conflicts between 2015 and 2022, followed by Africa and Asia.

"Resistance to mining is not confined to any one region or income group," said Anabel Marin, co-author of the research.

"The presence of mineral deposits, not a country's level of development, is the key factor in predicting where resistance occurs," she said. 

Nearly two-thirds of the incidents involved protests, blockades and violence, which often result in the disruption or cancellation of long-term projects and can even spark anti-mining movements, the research said.

While opposition to mining projects is usually led by communities' concerns about environmental and economic risks, worries about lack of transparency were also a driver, the research showed.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last year that too often the rush for resources led to "communities exploited, rights trampled and environments trashed". 

He made the comments following the publication of a U.N. report that recommended empowering communities and creating accountability to ensure that clean energy drives equitable and resilient growth.

While the conflicts can often result in negotiations between communities, governments and companies, only 21% have led to concrete policy changes such as the granting of land rights or government initiatives to help communities, the research showed.

"Resistance to mining activities is an economic problem which will require the government and the big companies to open spaces for negotiation with the local population. We need these demands to be heard properly and change how decisions are made for project investments related to mining activities," Marin said.

(Reporting by Diana Baptista; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Jonathan Hemming.)