Figure 4. Both mine size and location are important drivers of variation in estimated impacts. The estimated impact of 23 lithium mines is based on high-resolution, mine-specific footprints is shown on the y-axis, compared to the estimated impact using median mine area on the x-axis. Panel a compares estimates of total impact, while panel b compares ranks. A rank of 1 corresponds to the greatest impact for a given metric. The 1:1 line is shown in black. Using the median mine area substantially underestimates the impacts of the highest impact mines as compared to using a mine specific-footprint. Comparing ranked impacts (b), the median area-based approach differentiates higher and lower impact mines for nitrogen retention, sediment retention and nature access, but not for endemic species, Red List species, or species richness. No mines were located in coastal areas or near Key Biodiversity Areas, so coastal risk reduction and KBA metrics were omitted.