-
Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Must Not Just Be More of the Same
›While standing on the banks of the Mahakam River in Samarinda on the island of Borneo, I watched an unending parade of coal barges sail slowly down the river. I was here in East Kalimantan to give a presentation at the Vulnerable Deltas Workshop—a joint project of the East-West Center and the Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum.
-
Mine the Tech Gap: Why China’s Rare Earth Dominance Persists
›In 2019, at the height of the trade war with the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a rare earth magnet factory in Jiangxi Province. At the time, the visit was interpreted as “muscle flexing” by China’s leader to remind Washington of its dependence on Beijing for the supply of rare earths. Rare earth elements (REEs) – a group of 17 critical metals – are indispensable components in military defense systems, consumer electronics and renewable energy technologies. Despite more than a decade of sustained efforts by Western countries and companies to loosen China’s grip, Beijing, by far remains the top player in the REE global mining, processing and refining sectors.
-
Going Beyond “Conflict-free”: Transition Minerals Governance in DRC and Rwanda
›Resource-rich nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda—which produce minerals ranging from coltan, cobalt, gold, tungsten, and tantalum, to tin (3TG)—hold tremendous importance in the global supply chains. The DRC produces 70% of global cobalt production, while its neighbor, Rwanda, generates around 30% of Tantalum.
-
ECSP Weekly Watch | July 15 – 19
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Shedding Light on Imperial Oil’s Dark Waters (Mongabay)
Canada has the fourth-largest tar sands (oil deposits) in the world. Separating the bitumen used in industries and construction creates large volumes of toxic wastewater, which is stored in tailings ponds that now cover a staggering 270 square kilometers. Unresolved infrastructure mishaps at one such site in Alberta operated by Imperial Oil means that contaminants have polluted nearby waters so significantly that it has affected public health and the livelihoods of indigenous communities in downstream areas.
Showing posts from category mining.