MetalliCan: A database on metal-related production activities and their socio-environmental impacts in Canada

Metal-related production activities are essential to the low-carbon energy transition but can generate significant social and environmental impacts that influence project success and public acceptance. The MetalliCan database compiles and structures data from 23 open datasets and over 150 reports from more than 40 companies in metal-related sectors, offering a high-resolution, site-specific foundation for sustainability impact analysis in Canada. It was constructed following a systematic and reproducible procedure to integrate heterogeneous data sources at the finest granularity possible and ensure traceability and interoperability. MetalliCan covers 48 commodities and 270 domestic sites including active mines, smelters and refineries, as well as advanced projects. It contains information on environmental dimensions—e.g. greenhouse gases, pollutants, water, land, material use and waste—and social dimensions—e.g. affected population, conflicts, protected lands, future water risk and climate conditions. The code and database are openly accessible and can be exploited for industrial ecology research, such as life-cycle assessment, material flow analysis and environmental-extended input-output, as well as criticality, social and prospective studies.