Mining News and Discussions

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Oil rich Saudi Arabia strikes gold at four locations; Total estimated volume is in millions

https://www.india.com/news/world/oil-ri ... 0-8268321/

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[caltrek]

The Race to Mine Critical Minerals for AI and Clean Energy is Creating ‘Sacrifice Zones’ that Harm Water and Health of World’s Poor
By Abraham Nunbogu and Kaveh Madani
April 29, 2026

Introduction:

(The Conversation) There is a troubling contradiction at the heart of the global transition to a cleaner, greener, tech-driven future: Modern technologies – everything from AI to wind turbines, as well as cellphones, electric vehicles and defense systems – depend on critical minerals. But many of the communities where those minerals are mined end up with polluted water and poorer health because of the mining.

Lithium powers batteries. Cobalt stabilizes them. Copper carries electricity. Rare earth elements make wind turbines and digital devices efficient and durable. Each of these are essential to the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, but they are also toxic and require enormous amounts of water to extract.

As researchers at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, we have been studying the impacts of critical mineral mining on communities around the world. Our new report shows why mining will end up worsening the lives of some of the world’s poorest people if critical mineral supply chains are not monitored and regulated.

One of us is from the Middle East, a region still suffering from the long-term consequences of supplying the fuel consumed for the remarkable economic developments of the 20th century. And one of us comes from Africa, the continent that is now serving as a major supplier of the critical minerals that fuel technological advancements in the 21st century.

Based on our experiences and our research, we believe that if there aren’t major changes in how countries, corporations and communities manage critical minerals, humanity risks reproducing the injustices of the oil extraction era, this time with the technological advancements meant to address the problems fossil fuels created.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/the-race-t ... r-281524

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[caltrek]

The Brazilian Government Keeps Giving out Mining Licenses in the Amazon – in Spite of Evidence of Gold ‘Laundering’
By Fábio Bispo
May 14, 2026

Introduction:

(Grist) In the kitchen of Alnice Poxo Munduruku, fresh fish keeps the ancestral traditions of those who live along the vast Tapajós River alive. As the fire burns, the family cleans the fish while keeping a close eye on 11-year-old Aleckson. Born with cerebral palsy, which limits his mobility and speech, he has needed continuous care since birth. Like everyone here, he loves fish.

But the village’s food carries an invisible danger. Tests by scientists from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, or Fiocruz, show that Aleckson, his parents, and nearly everyone in neighboring communities have mercury levels above the safe threshold. Research by Fiocruz indicates that the contamination stems from gold mining, where mercury is used to separate the metal and then spreads through the rivers into the food chain.

This poisoning results not only from illegal mining but also from decisions and omissions by the Brazilian government. An exclusive InfoAmazonia investigation has found that Brazil’s National Mining Agency, or ANM, still maintains mining permits with signs of irregularities, such as reported gold production with no evidence of extraction consistent with the declared volumes — a practice identified by oversight bodies as illegal gold laundering.

Created in 1989 to regulate mining during the Tapajós gold rush that ran from the late 1970s to the 1990s, Garimpeiro Mining Permits (PLGs) were meant to be a simplified authorization for supposedly small-scale, low-impact operations. Decades later, what began as artisanal mining has become industrial-scale extraction involving heavy equipment, dredges, and mercury. These permits now give a veneer of legality to large-scale illegal mining in Tapajós, sidestepping legal limits.

Read more here: https://grist.org/accountability/the-b ... ndering/

[caltrek]

Vampire Planet: China’s (Green) Economic Imperialism
By Joshua Frank
May 15, 2026

Introduction:

(Counterpunch) We often laud China for its boom in renewable energy projects, but seem to ignore the fact that it’s still building coal-fired power plants at a faster pace than any other country. Experts are questioning whether China’s gains in green energy will be clouded by the black smoke billowing from its robust fleet of coal plants. Air pollution in China kills 2 million a year.

On the topic of China’s “green” energy boom, it’s also important to note that many of the critical mineral operations key to its renewable projects are harming workers and the environment across South America and Africa. This week, as Trump landed for talks in Beijing, the feeble US Congress released a paper on China’s “mineral mafia”. The report wasn’t driven so much by criticism of China’s practices but by imperial jealousy. China dominates critical mineral mining in Africa, and the US doesn’t (but wants to). On China’s intentions in Africa, the usually spot-on Jason Hickel missed the mark, arguing that China is not engaging in green imperialism.

Some numbers. China controls 90% of Zimbabwe’s lithium supply and over 70% of the DRC’s copper and cobalt mining (the DRC holds 50% of the world’s cobalt). In Zambia, China and Canada dominate the copper industry. China also controls nearly 90% of global critical mineral processing. While Hickel points out that Chinese-backed development loans aren’t your typical “structural adjustment” loans that the IMF and World Bank dole out (thank God!), many of these loans are what we call “resource-backed loans.” This collateral (often in the form of natural resources like critical minerals) ensures that China will maintain access to Africa’s mineral supplies even if the countries can’t repay their loans. It’s a new form of forever debt, and it’s very, very bad.

Read more here: https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/05/ ... erialism/