Poisoned water and scarred hills
Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 8:59 pmPoisoned water and scarred hills
[ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/id ... 07b597c8d9 ]
The price of the rare earth metals the world buys from China
By Laura Bicker and the Visual Journalism team - July 8, 2025
EXCERPT: "We found man-made lakes full of radioactive sludge and heard claims of polluted water and contaminated soil, which, in the past, have been linked to clusters of cancer and birth defects. These journeys were challenging.
Beijing appears sensitive to criticism of its environmental record. We were pulled over by police, questioned by them and stuck in a three-hour standoff with an unidentified mining boss who refused to let us leave unless we deleted our footage.
Our calls for an interview or a statement have gone unanswered, but the government has published new regulations to try to strengthen its supervision of the industry.
Authorities have been making an effort to clean up these mining sites, scientists told the BBC. Still, China’s mining operations in the north just keep growing. . . . "
More: [ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/id ... 07b597c8d9 ]
[ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/id ... 07b597c8d9 ]
The price of the rare earth metals the world buys from China
By Laura Bicker and the Visual Journalism team - July 8, 2025
EXCERPT: "We found man-made lakes full of radioactive sludge and heard claims of polluted water and contaminated soil, which, in the past, have been linked to clusters of cancer and birth defects. These journeys were challenging.
Beijing appears sensitive to criticism of its environmental record. We were pulled over by police, questioned by them and stuck in a three-hour standoff with an unidentified mining boss who refused to let us leave unless we deleted our footage.
Our calls for an interview or a statement have gone unanswered, but the government has published new regulations to try to strengthen its supervision of the industry.
Authorities have been making an effort to clean up these mining sites, scientists told the BBC. Still, China’s mining operations in the north just keep growing. . . . "
More: [ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/id ... 07b597c8d9 ]