Review of publicly available academic, industry, and NGO research as well as first-hand personal accounts of the impacts of the mining of the primary components of stainless steel and its processing.

Summary:

• Stainless steel is composed primarily of iron, chromium, nickel, and manganese, and most of the mining and production of these elements today goes towards steel making

• Like most other metals, the mining and processing of these materials generates large quantities of waste, often toxic. In the case of nickel, and especially manganese and chromium, the elements themselves are toxic

• An iron tailings dam collapse in Brazil in 2015 is considered to be the largest environmental disaster of the mining industry, releasing pollutants into hundreds of waterways and killing 19 people

• It’s hard to avoid impact from mining. For example, 40% of global nickel reserves are in protected areas or regions with high biodiversity, and 35% are in areas with high water stress. Virtually all nickel laterite deposits (the primary source of nickel for stainless steel) are located in biodiverse and protected areas

• Stainless steel recycling can bring about benefits from an energy (and other sustainability factors) standpoint, but it is complicated by the various grades of steel and the presence of contaminants