by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
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Nearly one-third of the world’s mining waste<\/strong> is stored in or near protected areas. This is reported in a study<\/a> by the University of Queensland<\/strong> in Brisbane, Australia, which highlights the risks involved. “Mine tailings contain the waste and residue that remains after mineral processing, and the storage facilities built to contain it are some of the world\u2019s largest engineered structures,” Bora Aska<\/strong>, a researcher at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the same university and co-author of the research, explains<\/a> in a statement. “Our findings,” she adds, “suggest that mine wastes threaten biodiversity within protected areas<\/strong> all over the world, including 8 active tailings storage dams in Australian protected areas, recognised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature<\/a>.”<\/p>\n