Fig. 2: The environmental impacts of diamond compared to metal industries.
From: The environmental impacts and sustainable pathways of the global diamond industry
a–c show the comparative results of the global average environmental impacts of mining one ton of rough diamonds and one ton of other metals (Gan and Griffin, 2018; Yellishetty et al. 2008; Jiang and Xu, 2017; Kusin et al. 2019). Selected metals include iron ore, gold, bauxite, alumina, and nickel. a–c distinguish GHG emissions (tons), mineral waste disposed or stored (tons), and both potable and non-potable water usage (m3) in the environmental indicators category by blue (GHG emissions), purple (mineral waste) and green (water usage), respectively.
