DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15726306
title: Global dataset mapping land use and land cover across more than 80,000 mining areas

description: This dataset is openly accessible and includes nine ZIP archives, each representing a distinct geographic region. Each ZIP archive contains multiple GPKG files, with each capped at 5,000 features to ensure efficient loading. Each GPKG file’s attribute table includes an internal identifier unique within the file (fid); a unique identifier across all files (index_n); a land use/land cover label (class_name); the area in square metres (area_m2); and the classification year (year). Specifically, the year field refers to the later TanDEM-X acquisition year recorded in the DCM for the pixel located at each mining site’s centroid, which we use as the representative year for that site. In the DCM, elevation change is stored as the difference between the TanDEM-X Edited DEM baseline (2011–2014) and the elevation from the later TanDEM-X acquisition year (2016–2022). To ensure temporal consistency between elevation-change information and spectral features, Sentinel-2 imagery from the same site-level later acquisition year was used for classification. As a result, this global dataset contains multiple years (2017–2022; none of the sites had a later acquisition year of 2016) rather than a single reference year. A single global reference year could not be imposed because the TanDEM-X later acquisition years vary geographically, and temporal normalisation would break the required alignment between spectral inputs and the DCM elevation-change signal, reducing classification accuracy.

Definitions for each land use/land cover class are as follows:

 

Land use/land cover class definitions






Land use/land cover class



Definition





Open pit



Surface excavations formed by vertically downward digging to extract geological or mineral materials, encompassing large terraced structures, quarries, and shallow cavities commonly associated with artisanal and small-scale mining.





Waste dumping site



A designated area for the temporary or permanent deposition of mining waste, typically managed through piling or burial. This includes wet mine waste stored in tailings storage facilities.





General disturbed land



Land areas have been visibly altered due to mining activity but cannot be confidently classified as open pits, waste dumps, vegetation, or built-up areas. Characterised by minimal elevation change, such areas may include cleared surfaces, haul roads, staging areas, or degraded zones in transition.





Water body



Water areas within mining extents include both temporary and permanent water bodies—such as supply ponds, wastewater treatment ponds, inundated open pits, tailings dams, and sedimentation basins—that are not masked in the TanDEM-X global Digital Elevation Model Change Maps (DCM) data.





Facility



Built-up areas including infrastructure associated with mining activities, such as buildings, roads, parking lots, and loading or processing facilities.





Bare soil



Exposed ground surfaces that may contain gravel, rocks, and occasionally sparse vegetation such as shrubs or grasses.





Vegetation



Tree cover within mining extents, primarily consisting of natural forests, but potentially including plantations and agricultural crops.