Can toxic mining waste help remove CO2 from the atmosphere?

The asbestos mine in Baie Verte , Newfoundland , Canada , closed in 1995 .

The mine’s waste rock and tailings are considered too big to address yet too dangerous to ignore.

Asbestos is a group of minerals whose fibrous structures make them extremely strong, lightweight — and deadly.

Carbon mineralization has helped regulate the Earth for millions of years .

But most alkaline rocks are not exposed to the atmosphere.

The International Panel on Climate Change has estimated that keeping global warming to 2 degrees Celsius will require sucking up to 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year by 2100 .

The first pilot project using tailings of any kind is underway at an operating nickel mine in Western Australia .

BAIE Minerals plans to establish a demonstration project at the community college campus in Baie Verte this year .

Natural Resources Canada considers carbon mineralization a sector with long-term growth and export potential.

But residents are skeptical that the company has the technology it needs to use the asbestos safely.