Overview
- The peer-reviewed analysis, published on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, used satellite imagery and statistical comparisons of more than 16,000 mines to attribute about 187,000 hectares of forest loss in sub-Saharan Africa from 2001 to 2020.
- Researchers estimate that for every hectare of active mine site, an additional 34 hectares of forest were cleared for supporting roads, worker housing, local agriculture and other infrastructure.
- Cobalt and copper operations drove the highest rates of off-site deforestation, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s rainforests highlighted as especially affected by wider supply-chain impacts.
- The authors warn standard environmental impact assessments undercount mining’s footprint because they focus on the immediate pit and not on the linked transport, settlement and land-use changes that extend for kilometres.
- The paper links the trend to rising global demand for green-energy minerals and recommends scaling the method globally and embedding no-net-loss or zero-deforestation policies in mining supply chains to protect communities and biodiversity.