sukh1d ago
Gerry McGovern

Mining copper is environmentally devastating

In 1920, mining 1 ton of copper caused 30 ton of toxic waste

In 2020, mining 1 ton of copper caused 180 ton of toxic waste

Since 1900, the energy required to produce a unit of copper is up 16 fold.
The water required has doubled.

We need to mine as much copper in the next 18 years than in all of previous history.

In 2020, a data center might have used 5,000 tons of copper.

An AI data center can require up to 50,000 tons of copper

'Green'?

Mar 6 at 11:12amWeb
Show threaddch  Mar 6
@gerrymcgovern sobering facts. Do you have a reference for any of this info? I’d like to use it in a blog post.
Show threadGerry McGovernMar 6

@dch

The dawn of the copper age, Future Minerals, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiesaxJiVlk

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2025/12/08/data-centers-could-gobble-half-a-million-tons-of-copper-a-year-by-2030/

Some of the stats, like the amount of waste produced, are based on my own research.

PRESENTATION: The dawn of the copper age

YouTube
Show threaddch  Mar 6
@gerrymcgovern thanks!
Show threadHenrik PauliMar 6
@gerrymcgovern Why the change in toxic waste output per ton?
Show threadGerry McGovernMar 6
@phl Ore ratio declines. The easiest and richest copper veins are mined first. As the ore has less concentration of copper, more waste is produced, and more energy, chemicals and water is required to process the ore.
Show threadRalph de RijkeMar 6
@gerrymcgovern While copper is one of the most recyclable metals! There is no upper boundary to human greed and stupidity
Show threadsix_grandfathers_mountain1d ago

@gerrymcgovern
We need... #datacenters

@Ralph_de_Rijke
#humangreed and #stupidity

Russian #coppermining town #Karabash high rates of birth defects, declared an environmental disaster zone in 1996
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karabash,_Chelyabinsk_Oblast

1998 town restarted #copper smelting operations

⭕In 2026 a doc/movie made in #Karabash and WON an Oscar ‼️

Mr. Nobody Against Putin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Nobody_Against_Putin

@steter
Thx 4 orig Gerry boost

⭕see ALT text more info

Show threadColeen WalterMar 6
@gerrymcgovern Cobalt mining is another example. The author, Siddharth Kara, documented the stories of those injured or killed while mining for cobalt.
Show threadEFMar 7

@gerrymcgovern not sure who would siggest AI or datacentres are green. They are moral, social, enviromental corruption at best providing very little benefit to humanity woth most results stemming from theft and deception.

There are a few edge cases where AI can provide tangible benefits.

Show threadRuth O'Day1d ago

@gerrymcgovern

Something I read about the merits of using aluminium as a substitute for copper start to kick in when the price of copper is three times as high as the price of aluminium. The author had no horse in the race, it was from a user's perspective of what to buy when starting a project. Like Einstein said, don't trust the internet, but this guy's analysis seemed solid.

It is at about that level right now, so, if he is right (even if he is wrong on the ratio, there is a ratio), in the near future there will be talk of aluminium-wired installations.

Show threadGerry McGovern1d ago
@RuthODay2 Unfortunately, aluminum has huge environmental costs as well. Bauxite, from which aluminum is mined, is ideally found under tropical forests such as the Amazon. One ton of alumna causes 1.5 ton of toxic red mud that is then dumped in open bits. In the Amazon, they killed an entire lake--Batata Lake--by dumping millions of tons of red mud into the lake. To turn alumna into aluminum requires massive quantities of electricity and can only be done in places like Iceland.