Potential mining impacts on ecosystem services and biodiversity on Brazil's quartz and iron mountains

Land use and land cover changes (LULCC) driven by mining expansion result in negative environmental impacts well beyond the mining pit. We assessed the potential impacts of mining and quarrying expansion on ecosystem services (ESs) and biodiversity in the Espinhaço Range, a center of species diversity and endemism that provides water for nearly 50 million people and has been increasingly affected by these activities. We modeled water yield and sediment retention in InVEST using 2022 LULC, climate, and biophysical data. We also evaluated carbon storage and the geographic distribution of threatened vascular plants and terrestrial vertebrates using publicly available datasets. We categorized active mining processes into existing projects (already active or in advanced stages of implementation) and planned projects (those undergoing approval processes). We calculated a ratio by dividing the percentage of ESs and biodiversity within project areas by the percentage of the area occupied by the mining projects in the Espinhaço Range to evaluate whether mining target areas overlap with hotspots of ESs and biodiversity. The 1360 existing areas targeted for mining provide nearly 3-fold more water and more biodiversity relative to their geographic range, while the 2308 areas targeted for future planned projects provide 2-fold more water and 1.44 times more sediment retention than would be expected for their geographic range. More than 56% of existing projects and 46% of planned projects overlap with critical areas for ESs. Additionally, 30 threatened species had more than 30% of their geographic range overlapping with existing and planned mining and quarrying projects. Our results provide evidence that mining projects pose a potential threat and overlap with key areas for both ESs and biodiversity. Therefore, we indicate measures to mitigate the impact of mining and quarrying on ESs and biodiversity in the Espinhaço Range.