I watched Armageddon again fairly recently with Bruce Willis, oil drillers in space and an asteroid the size of Texas bearing down on Earth. Buried beneath the Hollywood chaos is a genuinely interesting question, what exactly could we do with…

A group of monks piled into Harry Browne’s one-room cabin earlier this year for morning Mass. They left proof of their presence: a crucifix and a medal of St. Benedict. Browne isn’t a member of their flock, but the group…

In Brazil’s eastern Amazon, a bright red flower found nowhere else on Earth is threatened with extinction from expanding iron ore mining, scientists warn. The flowering plant, Ipomoea cavalcantei, known locally as flor-de-Carajás, only grows in cangas, an island-like ecosystem…

Venezuela has approved a new mining law to open the gold industry to international investors, but the legislation overlooks the symbiosis between illegal mining and the national government—and the dirty gold that results. The Organic Mines Law (Ley Orgánica de…

Fast-tracking clearances for critical minerals may ease supply risks, but without stronger transparency and community safeguards, it risks undermining sustainability and public trust In March 2026, India’s Ministry of Mines initiated the seventh tranche of auctions for the rights to explore and…

The Malawi government has suspended the mining license of a coal company for dumping mining waste into two rivers that communities rely on for water. The suspension follows an uproar by one of the communities in Malawi’s coal mining heartland…

An environmental advocacy group is suing the Department of the Interior (DOI) over its decision to greenlight a rare earth mining project located within the Mojave National Preserve a year ago. The lawsuit, filed last week by environmental law firm Earthjustice on…

U.S. companies are showing “significant” interest in Democratic Republic of Congo mining assets, including the rebel-held ​Rubaya area, a State Department official said, adding that investments in that area will have to align with ‌Washington-led peace efforts. Earlier this year,…