Shut down Lynas plant immediately, Harapan gov’t urged, malaysia kini 12 Nov 2018, Anti-Lynas group Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) has called on the Pakatan Harapan government to immediately shut down the Australian-owned Lynas rare earth refinery plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.
In a statement after a public meeting held by the Lynas Review Committee in Kuantan, SMSL said that the citizens have demanded the shutdown of Lynas, which was evident by the presence of about 600 people at the meeting….
SMSL, which has been campaigning against the operation of the plant since 2011, said that several court cases have been initiated to stop the then-Najib government from issuing Lynas Corporation the licence to operate and leave massive amounts of waste contaminated with radioactive materials.
These include thorium and uranium, and hazardous substances like arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead as well as chemicals from its refinery plant using ore concentrates from its Australian mine.
SMSL legal adviser Hon Kai Ping claimed that Lynas had breached its licensing conditions in many ways and there has been no subsequent action from the regulators. …..
SMSL said Lynas’ water leached purification residue (WLP) waste has radioactivity of close to 8Bq/g, according to a 2014 UKM research findings, eight times higher than the regulatory exemption limit.
“According to a Department of Environment document, over 450 kilo-tonne of WLP waste is now stored next to the refinery plant in dams lined only with thin HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic…….
It said that Lynas has proposed to turn its wastes into various commercial products – from building and road paving materials to a soil filler known as Condisoil.
It added that all of the proposed diluted products by Lynas, when released to the market, will almost certainly exceed the 1mSv/year cumulative dose limit, posing serious health and environmental risks to the whole country.
“The toxic legacy of Bukit Merah was created from monazite from our domestic tin tailing……
Pahang Department of Environment (DOE) director Rosli Zul said in his presentation that Lynas had indeed followed rules imposed by authorities since it began operations. https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/451530?fbclid=IwAR2fGT-ABGsw7Rxxv8jm3POzWdeSRKgTs_1tO30VFpd9uaph0h3Es9ohjBI
November 15, 2018
Posted by Christina MacPherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, rare earths |
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Australian mining plant in Malaysia faces radioactive waste inquiry, As China, the world’s largest producer of rare earth metals, scales back its export operations, the future of Australia’s industry is under a cloud. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australian-mining-plant-in-malaysia-faces-radioactive-waste-inquiry By Jarni Blakkarly 30 Oct 18, The Chinese government has announced a slashing in the production of rare earth metals, a type of metal used in a range of high-tech products from mobile phones to wind turbines and electric cars.
The country, which is the largest producer and consumer of rare earth metals, has cut its quota for the separation and smelting of rare earths by 36 percent, Reuters reported last week.
China produces roughly 80 per cent of the world’s rare earth metals and the move will likely send global prices skyrocketing. Meanwhile, the joint Australian-Malaysian rare earths operation run by Perth company Lynas, the only major production plant outside of China, is having its own problems.
Earlier this month, the Malaysian government launched a broad parliamentary inquiry into the mine and the management of its radioactive waste.
The Australian company mines rare earth metals in Western Australia before shipping them to Malaysia for processing.
Resources analyst Dylan Kelly from finance group CLSA told SBS News: “It is really critical in a strategic sense as the only real rare earth producer outside of mainland China and one that is high in quality and it is highly sought after in terms of strategic interest, not just for the Japanese, but also the US.”
But questions remain over the management of radioactive waste from the plant and what long-term solutions are in place for its management.
RMIT Professor of environmental engineering Gavin Mudd told SBS News all rare earths processing involves the generation of radioactive thorium and sometimes uranium waste.
The company’s current long-term waste management plans involve repurposing that waste into a soil fertilizer product, but Professor Mudd says not enough has been done yet to guarantee the by-product would be safe.
“Historically the rare earths industry hasn’t got a good track record in being able to demonstrate that safety case,” he said.
While the current government inquiry appears unlikely to shut the processing plant down in its entirety, Professor Mudd says more can be done in terms of increasing environmental reporting and public disclosure around the plant.
Lynas declined to comment to SBS News ahead of the inquiry, but in the past has defended its waste management practices as safe and transparent.
When the plant was approved in 2012 it set a wave of protests by thousands of concerned locals, which was largely ignored by the government.
But with the Opposition coming to power in a surprise election victory in May, the new government is taking a closer look at the plant.
Local Kuantan MP Faziah Salleh says the company needs to develop a new long-term storage plan for the radioactive waste.
“The company has to think about how they dispose of their radioactive waste, because Malaysians, especially people of [the city of] Kuantan, will not except the waste being left … dumped in our backyard, as it is right now,” she said.
The inquiry is due to report back to the government before the end of the year.
October 29, 2018
Posted by Christina MacPherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics international, rare earths |
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Lithium ‘buzz’ could be worth hundreds of billions to Australia, WA Today By Hamish Hastie, 2 October 2018 —Australia has the potential to capture more wealth and jobs from its lithium sector by moving down the battery supply chain but this would be contingent on a number of factors, one of the federal government’s top economists thinks.
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October 3, 2018
Posted by Christina MacPherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, rare earths |
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WA’s newest lithium mine plans to double down, WA Today By Hamish Hastie, 5 September 2018 Western Australia’s newest lithium mine was officially opened this morning, marking the seventh operating mine in the state.
Altura Mining’s 100 per cent-owned Pilgangoora lithium mine is located 90 kilometres south-east of Port Hedland and will support 130 ongoing jobs. The mine will produce about 220,000 tonnes per annum of lithium spodumene concentrate but the company is already considering plans to double production to tap into growing global battery demand for electric vehicles and storage.
The Pilgangoora lithium deposit currently has an ore reserve estimate of 41.1 million tonnes…..
Beyond just exporting lithium the state government’s lithium and energy materials industry taskforce is investigating the state’s ability to produce and process lithium and other energy materials.
The taskforce will present a lithium and energy materials strategy to cabinet over the next few months……https://www.watoday.com.au/business/companies/wa-s-newest-lithium-mine-plans-to-double-down-20180905-p501v3.html?crpt=index
September 7, 2018
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rare earths, Western Australia |
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Australia’s first lithium battery recycling plant launched https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-first-lithium-battery-recycling-plant-launched-19366/, By Sophie Vorrath on 27 April 2018
Australia’s first lithium battery recycling plant has been officially anointed in Victoria, in conjunction with the launch of $16.5 million state government e-waste processing plan.
The plant, established in New Gisbourne by Victorian company Envirostream Australia, is the first in the nation to recycle lithium batteries – the now ubiquitous power source for mobile phones, tablets, electric cars and home energy storage systems.
But while batteries – and in particular lithium batteries – are playing a central role in facilitating the world’s digital and clean energy revolutions, only 3 per cent of Australian batteries are currently recovered – the lowest rate in the OECD.
Envirostream’s $2 million recycling facility, which began operations last year, is trying to change that. In 2017 alone, the plant recycled 240,000 kilograms of batteries that would otherwise have gone to landfill, or been shipped to China for processing
Electronic waste – or e-waste – is defined as anything with a plug or battery that has come to the end of its useful life; including old mobile phones, computers, audio devices, refrigerators and other white goods, hair driers, TVs, heaters and air-conditioners.
The amount of e-waste generated in Victoria is projected to increase from 109,000 tonnes in 2015 to approximately 256,000 tonnes in 2035.
The plan, which is being rolled out by Sustainability Victoria, comes ahead of the impending state ban on sending e-waste to landfill, which takes effect on 1 July 2019.
It includes $15 million in grants to help Victorian councils and state government entities upgrade infrastructure to collect e-waste at more than 130 sites.
This will ensure that 98 per cent of Melburnians are within a 20-minute drive of an e-waste disposal point, and 98 per cent of regional Victorians are within a 30-minute drive of one.
It will also include a $1.5 million awareness campaign to educate Victorians on recognising e-waste, how it should be managed, and the environmental and economic benefits of reusing, donating, repairing or recycling it.
To Envirostream, Sustainability Victoria has extended a grant of $40,000 to go towards boosting the company’s recovery of valuable materials in lithium batteries.
“As one of the country’s trailblazers in reprocessing electronic waste, it’s helping to keep valuable resources out of landfills,” said Sustainability Victoria CEO Stan Krpan.
“Envirostream is showing how opportunities can be developed in Australia’s resource recovery sector, create jobs in regional communities and capture valuable chemicals, copper, steel, nickel, lithium, other metals and graphene captured so they can be sent to South Korea to be used in new batteries.”
Envirostream Director, Andrew McKenzie, said recycling batteries at New Gisborne would create five new jobs over the next year and help build Victoria’s recycling capacity.
“We have a nationally coordinated partnership to increase Australia’s low recovery rates of batteries and mobile phones and want to make sure these recoverable resources are not just thrown away or sent offshore for recycling.”
“We’re in an increasingly mobile world. Lithium batteries are now the dominant mode of energy storage for domestic and industrial uses, and like other e-waste, their use is growing fast,” he said.
April 27, 2018
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business, rare earths, Victoria |
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EPA approves $900m rare earths mine in Central Australia despite radioactive risk, ABC News, By Ben Millington, 5 Jan 18,A proposed $900 million rare earths mine in Central Australia has been recommended for approval by the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (EPA), after an assessment process lasting more than two years.,
Arafura Resources’ Nolans Project at Aileron, 135 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs, would mine rare earth materials such as neodymium and praseodymium, used to manufacture strong magnets for wind turbines and electric vehicles.
The EPA identified several long-term environmental risks and impacts with the project, but found they could be managed.
“There will have to be a high level of operational management control for this project over a couple of generations, and there’ll have to be a high level of regulatory scrutiny, there’s no two ways about that,” EPA chairman Paul Vogel said.
The primary risks include the permanent storage of naturally occurring radioactive material onsite and the use of significant groundwater resources over the 35 to 55-year lifespan of the project……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-05/epa-approves-rare-earth-mine-in-central-australia/9306610
January 6, 2018
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Northern Territory, rare earths |
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A report from Anna Boyden on the environmental impacts of lithium ion batteries provides useful background material and can be downloaded here.
Lithium-ion batteries (UN No. 3480) are classified as Dangerous Goods under the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail (ADG Code).
The ADG Code requires all dangerous goods, including lithium ion batteries, to be carried in a secure, safe and environmentally controlled manner. The carrier has the right to refuse carriage if dangerous goods are not packed in accordance with the regulations. There is a special provision (377) and packaging instruction (P909) for ‘lithium ion and lithium metal cells and batteries and equipment containing such cells and batteries transported for disposal or recycling, either packed together with or packed without non-lithium batteries…’
The following ABRI members provide a collection and recycling service for used lithium-ion batteries. Contact the company or check their web site for details. Continue reading →
September 27, 2017
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, rare earths, storage |
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Car industry revolution fuels Western Australia’s lithium boom, ABC News, By Kathryn Diss, 29 July 17
“……..’We can’t afford to keep throwing these things away’
Demand is also growing for other specialty minerals which go into building a battery, including graphite, cobalt, vanadium and nickel.
While the focus for most miners has been getting their lithium to market as quickly as possible, other players like Lithium Australia is targeting lower grade lithium and recycling of old batteries.
“Our focus has been developing processing technology to a large extent focusing on the materials people don’t want to process at the moment,” Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said.
“If you look at the industry, there’s more lithium that gets discharged to waste around the world than ever gets into the process supply chain.
“One of the things Australia really needs to look at is the recycling of waste battery materials.
“We can’t afford to keep throwing these things away: At the moment there’s about 8,000 tonnes a year of battery materials going to landfill and there’s only about 800 tonnes recycled.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-29/car-industy-lithium-revolution-driving-next-mining-boom-in-wa/8748322
July 31, 2017
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Car industry revolution fuels Western Australia’s lithium boom, ABC News, By Kathryn Diss, 29 July 17, Electric cars are driving rapid mining investment in WA, with the state supplying most of the lithium needed to manufacture batteries worldwide.
Most electric vehicles (EVs) use lithium-ion batteries, the same technology which powers smartphones, tablets and laptops.
As car makers around the globe race to meet new EV targets, demand for batteries has driven lithium exports from WA as the state now produces more than half of the world’s supply.
Global leaders have been behind the push, with new European emissions legislation forcing car markers to increase their targets and France recently announcing it wanted to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.
It joins similar targets set by India (2030) and Norway (2025).
The British Government is also set to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 as part of a plan to clean up air pollution.
Growth in demand ‘surprised most analysts’
Batteries to store household solar power, which would allow consumers to disconnect from the electricity grid, are also driving demand to a lesser extent.
“The speed at which demand has grown for lithium carbonate equivalent has surprised most analysts, ourselves included,” Katana Asset Management’s Romano Sala Tenna said.
“Up until a few months ago the conventional thinking was by about 2025, we would need about 330,000 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate, [but] based on recent announcements from larger automobile manufacturers, we are now thinking we will need at least double that — about 600,000 tonnes per annum.”
While that may sound small compared to the 800 million tonnes the state’s iron ore industry exports each year, the activity in the sector is already creating thousands of new jobs and generating millions in royalties for the cash-strapped WA Government.
The Greenbushes mine in the state’s South West, which is part owned by China’s Tianqi Lithium and America’s Albemarle, is one of the world’s largest lithium producers and is undergoing an expansion to double production.
The mine has seen both boom and bust since starting out as a tin operation in 1888, but is now on the cusp of another upswing — laying claim to what was considered the world’s highest grade lithium deposit.
“It is the longest continuously running mine in Western Australia and it’s on its third product. It just seems to keep producing new life,” Tianqi Lithium general manager Phil Thick said.
“Lithium is obviously a game changer for that mine. It’s been significant as a tin and tantalum mine, but lithium value is substantial.”
The joint venture is also building what it claims to be the biggest lithium processing plant in the world in Kwinana south of Perth. The project will cost $400 million and create 500 construction jobs.
‘More than just a mini-boom’
Growth in the sector has been rapid.
In January, the state had just one mine producing lithium — it now has four and exports have jumped six-fold.
Business observer Tim Treadgold has witnessed big changes in WA’s mining landscape during his 40 years commentating on the sector.
“This is more than just a mini-boom, this is the real McCoy, we could go from one [mine] two years ago to eight by this time next year. It really has been quite remarkable what’s going on,” he said.
Activity in the sector is attracting big names including Chilean major Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) which has inked a deal to bankroll a new deposit in the Goldfields with Kidman Resources.
It includes plans to build a $100 million refinery at either Bunbury, Perth or Kalgoorlie.
The deal was announced just days after Kidman won a Supreme Court battle against another miner to maintain control of the mine.
“The world has beaten a path to our door. The arrival of SQM was a real wakeup call that the world wants it and it’s coming here and it’s prepared to pay for it,” Mr Treadgold said……….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-29/car-industy-lithium-revolution-driving-next-mining-boom-in-wa/8748322
July 30, 2017
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rare earths, Western Australia |
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Is there any awareness in Australia of the dangers of toxic radioactive trash from rare earths mining and processing?
Next mining boom in Australia will be driven by tech metals for renewable energy and technologies ABC Rural By Babs McHugh, 17 Apr 17 The Australian mining industry is on the verge of a new mining boom based around so-called tech metals.
And as the race cranks up across the nation to find new deposits of rare earths and other metals, industry itself is calling for the development of a value-adding component……
The tech metals complex is made up of rare earths and other minerals and metals that are used in what is referred to as the new economy. They are essential to making high technology componentry such as mobile phones, solar cells and autonomous vehicles.They are also used to make the different kinds of batteries needed to store power from renewable sources, and new types of lightweight engines to replace traditional combustion engines……..
Rare earth hunters also want local value-adding industry There are 17 rare earth elements on the periodic table, falling into the heavy rare earths or light rare earths depending on their atomic weight.
Up until recently, all rare earths were mined and exported from China, which has had a stranglehold on the industry and its pricing. Given their global importance, the race is well and truly on to find more rare earth deposits, and Australia is a favoured hunting ground.
“They’re actually quite ubiquitous in the Earth’s crust,” Arafura Resources managing director Gavin Lockyer said.”Why they’re associated with the term rare is the fact that it’s rare to find them in an economically recoverable quantity.”
Australia the perfect place for processing Arafura Resources has done that with its Nolans Bore project 135 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.The find is considered significant, featuring a 56-million-tonne deposit with a 40-year mine life. It is full of neodymium and praseodymium, which is used to make magnets, the bulk of which are now sourced from China.
“We really think there’s much more value-add to be had by doing downstream processing, and Australia is the perfect place to do that. “We’ve got an existing regulatory environment that covers things like water usage, environmental aspects, air pollutants, transport and disposal. “There’s already a well-established regime and bureaucracy in place to regulate that, and we think it’s better to do that at the mine site where it all happens, rather than trying to do it offshore and making it somebody else’s problem……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-17/next-mining-boom-in-australia-is-tech-metals/8443172
April 19, 2017
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, rare earths |
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February 22, 2017 A SUPPLEMENTARY environmental report for a $1.19 billion rare earths mine north of Alice Springs has been lodged with the NT Environment Protection Authority.
The lodgement represents a significant milestone in Arafura Resource’s Nolans Project.
Arafura plans to mine, concentrate and chemically process rare earths at the Nolans site, 135km north-northwest of Alice Springs.The project is estimated to create up to 500 jobs in the two-to-three year construction phase, and employ a peak workforce of 300 in the operation phase, which is expected to exceed 40 years.
Construction is estimated to cost $866 million at Nolans, including an estimated $145 million in the Territory and $70 million in Central Australia. It is expected to cost $188 million a year to operate.
The draft EIS and associated specialist studies were on public exhibition for eight weeks last year and attracted 21 submissions, mostly from government departments.
Arafura’s NT general manager Brian Fowler said they were hoping to complete the environmental part of the project this year.
“All matters raised in these submissions were provided to Arafura for consideration and are responded to in the EIS supplement,” he said.
“We look forward to completing the approvals process for the environmental component of the project later this year.”
Rare earths are a collection of 15 elements in the periodic table that are relatively abundant in the earth’s crust, but uncommon to find in quantities that can be recovered economically, Mr Fowler said.
“They are essential to products with significant growth potential in markets associated with the electronics and technology industries, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction,” he said.
Until recently, rare earths were mostly mined, processed and refined in China and, along with Japan and the USA, China accounts for most of the world’s demand for rare earths. Continue reading →
February 22, 2017
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Northern Territory, rare earths |
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A tiny paragraph on page 25 of the business section of The Age (print version 29/6/15) tells that Lynas shares have plunged. Meanwhile Alkane resources, near Dubbu, NSW, is launching mining of rare earths.
What The Age didn’t tell us, in this tiny paragraph – is what is happening about the reprocessing of these rare earths, and disposal of the highly radioactive wastes. . I’m pretty sure that in the case of Alkane – thi is to be done in China. China, having learned very much the hard way, has now become a lot more careful about these wastes.
In the case of Lynas, they plan to process the rare earths in Malaysia. Lynas has been vague on what they planned to do with the radioactive wastes. No wonder the Malaysians objected – as they too have in the past, suffered a rare earth’s wastes radioactive disaster. No wonder Lynas is struggling now.
June 29, 2015
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, rare earths |
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We do need to keep an eye on rare earth developments. In the longer term, recycling must be the major way to obtain these. In the shorty term, rare earths are needed, but require vigilant management because of their radioactive toxicity, and need for secure radioactive wastes disposal
AND – this company is involved in uranium exploration ”
Its projects include Nowthanna Uranium project, McKeddies project and West Arnhem Tenure. Its wholly owned subsidiaries include Australian Uranium Limited and Cabe Resources Limited.”
Yellow Rock Resources has been accepted as an associate member of the Clean Energy Council of Australia.
Yellow Rock Resources (ASX:YRR) has been accepted as an associate member of the Clean Energy Council (CEC) of Australia.
The membership will allow Yellow Rock to engage with industry participants and policy makers.
Yellow Rock’s admission as a member demonstrates the company’s commitment to developing its world-class Gabanintha vanadium deposit in Western Australia specifically for emerging technology servicing the renewable energy market.
Gabanintha is a project which has the ability to support renewables as a supplier of vanadium for Vanadium Redox Battery technology.
Yellow Rock in discussions with renewable energy suppliers
Yellow Rock has initiated discussions with renewable energy suppliers SunEdison and Total Energy Australia, among others, focused on potential collaborative opportunities at Gabanintha.
Vincent Algar, chief executive, commented: “The latest excellent drilling results give us another opportunity to expand our relationships in the financial and renewable energy sectors.
“Gabanintha is a project which has the ability to support renewables as a supplier of vanadium for battery storage technology.
“In addition, Gabanintha can be supported by renewable energy generation to reduce its own operating costs, making it a unique opportunity for investors.”
About Gabanintha
The Gabanintha deposit is an intrusive layered intrusive body smaller, but displaying similar characteristics to the igneous Bushveld Complex, host to some of the world’s most significant platinum, vanadium and chromite deposits.
The project will have continued newsflow over coming weeks as more results flow through from the recent reverse circulation drilling program. commence on receipt of all assay results.
Currently 167 historical drill holes support an Inferred Resource of 125 million tonnes at 0.70% vanadium, 8.64%TiO2 and 32.6% iron.
This includes a separate high grade Indicated and Inferred Resource of 60.4 million tonnes at 0.98% vanadium, 11.4% TiO2 and 42.15% iron.
June 4, 2015
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, rare earths, Western Australia |
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Uranium opponents look to other sectors for job growth Opponents of uranium mining in southern Greenland have put forward a list of proposals they believe can create jobs and in the process make a highly contested mine unnecessary The Arctic Journal, May 13, 2015 – By Kevin McGwin In the town of Narsaq, on Greenland’s southern tip, debate is coming to a head over whether residents can make do without a near-by mine that will create jobs, but which some fear will make the town unliveable.
The concerns come as Greenland Minerals and Energy, an Australia-based mining outfit, closes in on final approval to begin production rare earths, a mineral vital for use in modern technologies……
in order to extract rare earths, GME will also need to mine uranium as a by-product, and that has raised fears, particularly among farmers, sheep farmers and those making a living off tourism, that dust from the open-pit facility will taint the region’s soil and water, and in the process spoil the region’s image. Continue reading →
May 16, 2015
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics international, rare earths, uranium |
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