Environmentalists are sounding the alarm on the potential harm of a precious metals mine that could be built on the doorstep of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Meanwhile, those who support the project say it will bring hundreds of jobs, pump billions of dollars into the regional economy and make the U.S less dependent on other nations for the vital minerals. The destination for hikers, campers and canoeists is facing a looming threat unlike any other, says Ingrid Lyons, executive director of Save the Boundary Waters. “This is fundamentally the wrong place for this type of mining,” Lyons said.…
Author: TJ Markle
More than 220 people were killed in two successive landslides on Jan. 28 and 29 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The victims were artisanal miners known as “diggers.” The accident occurred at the Luwowo mining site in Gasasa, within the Rubaya mining perimeter in Masisi territory, North Kivu. Mines in this area produce around 15% of the global supply of coltan. Since April 2024, this area has been controlled by the M23, the largest armed group in Congolese territory, supported by Rwanda, according to the United Nations. The accident occurred as a result of successive risky activities on the rugged and…
In the global race to secure hard-to-find minerals that help power everything from smartphones to wind turbines, California’s Mojave desert is emerging as an unlikely front line. The Colosseum mine, an abandoned gold pit, is now seen as a potential source of the rare earth elements underpinning the country’s clean energy development and technological leadership ambitions. Once part of the first mining rush, the site’s revival for rare earth extraction epitomizes the current era, whose emphasis on copper, nickel, lithium, and rare-earth elements reflects demand created by the growth of electronics, the explosion of data centers, and green energy. Colosseum,…
More than 20 financial institutions worldwide have publicly vowed not to finance deep-sea mining — an activity scientists say could cause irreversible harm to ocean ecosystems. However, a DW investigation has found that some have invested at least $684 million (€581 million) in companies linked to the industry. Hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing into companies racing to extract nickel, cobalt, and copper for batteries and other industrial uses from deposits buried thousands of meters below the ocean surface — an environment where scientific knowledge remains limited. Less than 0.001% of the seafloor has been explored. Among the investors are some of the world’s largest…
Greenland’s harsh environment, lack of key infrastructure and difficult geology have so far prevented anyone from building a mine to extract the sought-after rare earth elements that many high-tech products require. Even if President Donald Trump prevails in his effort to take control of the Arctic island, those challenges won’t go away. Trump has prioritized breaking China’s stranglehold on the global supply of rare earths ever since the world’s number two economy sharply restricted who could buy them after the United States imposed widespread tariffs last spring. The Trump administration has invested hundreds of millions of dollars and even taken stakes in several companies. Now the president is…
16-year project yields breakthrough in economic security, reducing reliance on Chinese exports amid tensions The Japanese government successfully conducted a test mining operation for mud containing rare earth elements near Minamitori Island, located southeast of the Japanese archipelago, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 2nd. The newspaper assessed, “This success marks a significant step toward domestic production of rare earth elements, especially as China leverages them as a diplomatic tool.” According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, successfully extracted rare earth-rich mud from…
The global mining industry faces unprecedented pressure to balance resource extraction with environmental stewardship and social responsibility. As governments worldwide scramble to secure supply chains for critical minerals essential to the green energy transition, traditional mining practices are being fundamentally transformed by comprehensive sustainability frameworks. This transformation represents more than regulatory compliance; it signals a strategic shift toward integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles throughout the entire mining lifecycle, from initial exploration to final closure, as evidenced by the growing adoption of Cornish Tin Tin Code sustainability initiatives. Mining companies are discovering that early adoption of sustainability standards creates competitive advantages…
As foreign ministers and senior officials gather in Washington this week for the first Critical Minerals Summit, the United States is making explicit what has long been implicit: the race for artificial intelligence will be decided as much by mines, refineries and supply chains as by code — not only by software breakthroughs. This growing convergence of priorities and awareness is also emerging as a key binding agent in transatlantic relations. “Artificial intelligence will be the best or the worst thing ever to happen to humanity.” Elon Musk’s remark has become almost a cliché in public debate, yet it retains…
US President Donald Trump is set to launch a strategic critical-minerals stockpile with $US12 billion ($17.3 billion) in seed money, a bid to insulate manufacturers from supply shocks as the US works to slash its reliance on Chinese rare earths and other metals. The venture — dubbed Project Vault — is set to marry $US1.67 billion in private capital with a $US10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank to procure and store the minerals for automakers, tech firms and other manufacturers. US rare-earths stocks jumped in premarket trading upon news of the administration’s plan, including USA Rare Earth, Critical Metals, United…
By Prabhat Dewangan for UAE Stories – https://uaestories.com/draw-attention-to-bahrain-titanium-investment/ Bahrain’s plan to strengthen its position in advanced manufacturing has come under renewed attention following legal proceedings abroad that raise questions about the background of the Bahrain Titanium project. The scrutiny stems largely from filings in U.S. federal court that outline allegations connected to the global titanium trade and a group of companies said to be linked to Igor Raykhelson, the businessman publicly associated with the Bahrain venture and described in court documents as the ultimate beneficial owner of the Interlink group. The foreign filings do not accuse the Bahrain Titanium project itself…