Study says, the true impact of mining on biodiversity and great apes may be even higher with potentially over 23,000 chimpanzees impacted in Guineapopulation in Africa, researchers have found that these have been immensely underestimated and are at risk from mining activities.
With increasing demand for vital minerals like copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other rare earth elements needed for the transition to cleaner energy sources is actually leading to a surge in mining activity in the continent. The statement says that a large share of the resources is still unexploited in
The researchers used data on operational and preoperational mining sites to define buffer zones of 10 km accounting for direct and indirect impacts with 50 km buffer zones on great ape habitats. “Currently, studies on other species suggest that mining harms apes through pollution, habitat loss, increased hunting pressure, and disease, but this is an incomplete picture,” stated first author Dr Jessica Junker, researcher at Re:wild and former postdoctoral researcher at iDiv and MLU.