Media Contact:
Claire Hermann, Mining Communications Manager, Earthworks, +1 (202) 601-3043, chermann@earthworksaction.org
What: COP30 Side Event/panel discussion on how mine waste (aka tailings) threatens Indigenous communities and ecosystems. Discussion will include case studies from Brazil, and South Africa, steps necessary to hold mining companies accountable, and strategies to ensure Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination and Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
Who: Representatives from the SIRGE Coalition, Cultural Survival, and Batani. Moderated by Jan Morrill, Tailings Campaign Manager at Earthworks
Where: Indigenous Peoples Pavilion
When: 17 November, 2025, 13:00ー14:30
Background:
The World Bank forecasts that the production of certain minerals could increase nearly 500 percent by 2050 to meet the goals of a low-carbon future. These minerals underpin clean energy systems as well as digital and defence technologies. Yet mining is never impact free. Its effects include deforestation, water depletion, toxic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, damage to human health, and the displacement of communities. Across the world, Indigenous Peoples bear disproportionate social, environmental, and cultural costs of mining and mine waste. An estimated 54 percent of global transition mineral reserves are located on or near Indigenous lands, where governance gaps and historical inequities heighten vulnerability to pollution, displacement, and livelihood loss.
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