HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA (Commodity Online): Metals Economics Group’s (MEG) said that its leading global mining industry database—MineSearch would help facilitate current and future strategy regarding mining in protected areas.
The database includes the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) map layer.This valuable data layer gives context to mining-related development and investment activities by providing a visual relationship between industry operations and environmentally sensitive regions, MEG said in a press release.
UNEP’s World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global spatial dataset on marine and terrestrial protected areas available. Areas included in the WDPA are displayed in MineSearch’s satellite and terrain maps alongside project location and details on project activities.
“The industry as a whole is giving a considerable amount of thought to social and environmental responsibility challenges,” says Dominique di Gesu, MEG’s Chief Operating Officer. “In MineSearch, companies can perform spatial analyses of the proximity of, and overlaps between, protected areas and key mineral deposits. You can see where areas of risk exist in order to plan and act accordingly.”
Protected areas in the WDPA map layer include forest, marine, ecological and wildlife reserves; wilderness, wetlands, conservation, and biosphere areas; parks and historical sites; and many other sensitive regions.
The MineSearch client community includes the majority of large global mining companies, banks, investment and fund managers, as well as smaller mining companies focused on growth, service and equipment providers, governments, and consultants. MineSearch is available by subscription through Metals Economics Group
