Project: Mining With Nature

The mining industry is key to increasing biodiversity

Increased attention to biodiversity should be profitable. Not only for nature, but also for business. That’s why Svemin, as the first industry association, has developed a concept – Mining with Nature – for how to do it. All Svemin member companies must follow the roadmap. The work has attracted considerable international interest, and the roadmap has now been translated into English, Spanish and Mandarin.


Downloads, English

  • Download Mining with Nature, single page here
  • Download Mining with Nature, full page here
  • Download the publication Projects for biodiversity – examples from the Swedish mining and minerals industry here
  • Download Svemin’s Guidance – Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) here

Downloads, Mandarin

  • Download Mining with Nature, 官话 (Mandarin), here

Downloads, Spanish

  • Download Mining with Nature, Spanish, here

Seminar

  • Mining with Nature; How the Swedish Mining Industry Became a Biodiversity Frontrunner, seminar, Brussels, Jun. 22 here

Copper for cables, graphite for electric car batteries and rare earth metals for wind turbines. The availability of raw materials effectively sets the pace for the green transition. More mines are needed. With that comes a special responsibility. That’s why the Swedish mining industry is developing an entirely new methodology to ensure that biodiversity is not harmed at the same time.

Global research shows that biodiversity loss is as big a threat to our planet as climate change. Moreover, current geopolitical developments in Europe and the rest of the world add another alarming dimension to the worrying situation of sustainable raw material supply. We must ask ourselves where we will get the raw materials needed for the necessary transformation of our energy system. And how to ensure that these raw materials are sustainably produced in a way that is responsible for both people and the environment. Both in the short and long term.

So, as the first industry ever, we have developed – and adopted – a coherent approach to how to do this. We call this concept Mining with Nature and it is based on the so-called mitigation hierarchy: avoiding, minimising, restoring and compensating for negative impacts on biodiversity.

But the overall goal is bigger than that; companies in our industry should contribute net-positively to biodiversity by 2030 in all areas where we operate. Interest in learning from Sweden is high. We have already received inquiries from several countries in the EU and even from China. The roadmap is now also available in English, Spanish and Mandarin.

What’s happening in the project right now?

In parallel with the implementation of the roadmap, we are also developing an ambitious training platform, a training course for mining industry employees to raise awareness of biodiversity and the Mining with Nature concept.

In order to measure biodiversity and report on our achievements in a credible way, we and several of our member companies are involved in a project to develop a new methodology – CLImB . The project aims to develop a well-established and credible methodology to measure both biodiversity used and biodiversity created.


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FACTS

The Mining with Nature project was initiated by Svemin, an industry organization for mines, minerals and metal producers in Sweden. The project is carried out within the framework of the Strategic Innovation Program (SIP) Swedish Mining Innovation, a joint venture by Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency. The project is led by Ecogain.

MORE INFORMATION ON MINING WITH NATURE

Kristina Branteryd, Director Environment Svemin
kristina.branteryd@svemin.se
+46(0)72 018 53 05

Tove Hägglund, Ecogain project director Mining with Nature
tove.hagglund@ecogain.se