The environmental costs of mining are extremely localized and that’s also generally where the permitting takes place.

New mining permits in the US are magnets for environmental review lawsuits.

Depending on the type of mine, getting a new one up and running can take 7-17 years, counting planning, permitting and the inevitable lawsuits.

Copper and nickel mine runoff can be extremely toxic, especially to aquatic wildlife and wetlands. Remediation isn't really feasible once the damage is done, so plenty of groups would rather outright ban certain rich deposits from being mined at all than take the risk.

How sensitive environments elsewhere in the world fare under mines that aren't subject to safety precautions in the US is apparently an "other people" problem.

Because lots of mined metals come either from 3rd world countries like Congo with no environmental protection laws or are mined in few places like Russia where a trade war can lead to shortages.

Hydro requires the most common mayerials like steel or concrete.

And, not even concrete.

But there are numerous other storage alternatives that also do not need any special materials. We don't know yet which ones will be cheapest.