As President-elect Trump promises to eliminate government agencies and regulations, one American industry — mining — is asking for more intervention. They say national economic and military security are at stake.
Kolwezi has some of the world's largest copper and cobalt reserves and that makes it a key location at the heart of the U.S. and China's jostle for mineral supremacy on the African continent.
Miners are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport supplies.
A proposed lithium mine in Serbia is spurring protests over its potential impact on the environment. The mineral is in high demand because it’s crucial for the batteries that run electric vehicles.
A company's plan to mine near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp is nearing approval by Georgia regulators, despite conservationists' concerns that it could irreparably damage the swamp and its vast wildlife refuge. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division on Friday released drafts of three permits that would allow Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals to mine outside the swamp.
As the U.S. plans new mines for copper, lithium and other metals to use in green technologies, mining projects in the West could threaten scarce water supplies.
Gold prices are soaring. Cue the gold rush, and with it, more challenges for Brazil and efforts to protect the world's largest tropical forest, write Robert Muggah and Mac Margolis.
NPR ventures into a Colombian emerald mine — which used to be more dangerous, with potential explosions inside and gunfights outside. The CEO, a former U.S. diplomat, says he wanted to change that.
The promised surge in clean-energy jobs from the growing popularity of electric vehicles in the U.S. is mostly focused farther down the supply chain, like at battery assembly plants.
Photos show the desperate search for scraps left by big diamond operators. But amid rampant poverty and unemployment, zama-zamas see no other way to provide for their families.
A proposal to mine for titanium dioxide near the state's Okefenokee Swamp is attracting controversy. Alabama company Twin Pines has applied for a permit to extract minerals near the freshwater wetland and wildlife refuge — the largest blackwater wetland in North America — and residents, politicians and environmental advocates are pushing back to protect the Okefenokee.
Fishermen and tribes have been fighting the mine proposal for a decade, fearing it would harm the wild sockeye salmon at the heart of the area's economy and culture.
Decades of mining for jade has left the landscape desolate. Local activists want to make a change — but can they stand up to the powerful companies that dominate the industry?
