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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/critical-minerals/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:40:33 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Critical Minerals</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/critical-minerals/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Documentary captures impacts of diamond mining along South Africa’s West Coast</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 15:27:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/03110215/Photo-1-John-Yeld-Screenshot-2025-03-28-at-22.17.18-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325174</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Critical Minerals, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Stretching 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Cape Columbine, two hours north of Cape Town, to the Orange River which marks the country’s natural border with Namibia, South Africa’s West Coast is vast, remote and sparsely populated and, moving north, characterized by a harsh, arid climate. In the very north, not far inland, lies the Richtersveld, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Stretching 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Cape Columbine, two hours north of Cape Town, to the Orange River which marks the country’s natural border with Namibia, South Africa’s West Coast is vast, remote and sparsely populated and, moving north, characterized by a harsh, arid climate. In the very north, not far inland, lies the Richtersveld, which is the only remaining area in South Africa where the Nama people maintain their semi-nomadic traditions. It is also home to an extraordinary range of succulents and plant diversity, some only occurring there. The Richtersveld region, parts of which were declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2007, is a unique biodiversity hotspot and has one of the highest density of succulent species. The region is rich not just in diamonds, but also other mineral deposits whose presence has turned the region into one of South Africa&#8217;s most intensively mined landscapes over the past century. A new documentary, Out of Mined, examines the legacy of mining along the West Coast at a time when the region is facing a renewed interest from the mining sector for its heavy minerals, found in terrestrial reserves, but also in heavy mineral sands along the coast and as offshore deposits. The entrance of a diamond mine in Hondeklipbaai that closed its doors in the early 2000’s; many local people lost their jobs and livelihoods. Image courtesy of Gary van Wyk. Cape Town-based director Arthur Neumeier started working on Out of Mined after social media posts about a wave&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325174</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Human rights abuse allegations continue to rise in the mining sector, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2026 18:41:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/29182329/AP26121665473043-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322054</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Europe, Global, Latin America, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Clean Energy, Critical Minerals, Environment, Health, Human Rights, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Protests, Renewable Energy, Trade, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the last several years, the United States and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. Officials have fast-tracked new projects and signed deals with countries across the globe to ensure access to copper, cobalt, lithium and other minerals that are essential for building solar panels, wind [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over the last several years, the United States and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. Officials have fast-tracked new projects and signed deals with countries across the globe to ensure access to copper, cobalt, lithium and other minerals that are essential for building solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and other technologies. But as investment grows, so does conflict throughout the sector. Protests and lawsuits are common at mine sites, which can lead to attacks against human rights and environmental defenders. It’s led critics to call for stricter regulations and better communication with local communities. “Resilient mineral supply chains can only be built with respect for people, ecosystems, and local benefits,” Erica Westenberg, director of governance programs at the NGO Natural Resource Governance Institute, said in a report from the Business and Human Rights Centre. Each year, the organization releases the findings of its Transition Mineral Tracker, which monitors allegations of abuse by large-scale mining of bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, iron ore and zinc. For 2025, the NGO reviewed 299 mining operations and their owners, counting 329 allegations of abuse — up from 156 the year before — tied to air and water pollution, public health problems, and labor abuse like poor working conditions and union suppression. There were also 61 cases of protests, 10 strikes and 44 lawsuits, the report said. A breach at a tailing dam at a Sino-Metals Leach Zambia mine near Kitwe. (AP Photo/Richard Kille, File) The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322054</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lawsuit demands accountability for Cerro de Pasco mining pollution in Peru</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/lawsuit-demands-accountability-for-cerro-de-pasco-mining-pollution-in-peru/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/lawsuit-demands-accountability-for-cerro-de-pasco-mining-pollution-in-peru/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jun 2026 21:14:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/16210447/AP0909151105123-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321332</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Clean Energy, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Environment, Health, Mining, Pollution, Public Health, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A mine that has been operating for decades in the Peruvian Andes continues to contaminate the soil, water and air for thousands of people living nearby, according to a lawsuit filed last month. The contamination has displaced farming and livestock, the lawsuit said, while causing cognitive issues in children, among other public health concerns. Companies [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A mine that has been operating for decades in the Peruvian Andes continues to contaminate the soil, water and air for thousands of people living nearby, according to a lawsuit filed last month. The contamination has displaced farming and livestock, the lawsuit said, while causing cognitive issues in children, among other public health concerns. Companies working at the Cerro de Pasco mine, located in Peru’s central highlands, need to be held responsible for the pollution and public health issues that have affected more than 100,000 people, according to Cerro de Pasco Mayor Julio Rupay Malpartida and public prosecutor Darwin Alejandro Ramón Yalico, who filed the injunction petition on behalf of the municipality. “[The] environmental contamination is on such a scale that it’s present in every corner of the city,” the lawsuit said, “a consequence of the accumulation of heavy metals and toxic substances.” The area has been home to mining activity since at least the 16th century, when the Spanish discovered silver deposits during colonization. More recently, the private company Volcan Compañía Minera took over the mines in 2000 and has overseen underground and open pit operations to extract silver, copper, zinc and lead, among other metals. The lawsuit also lists Volcan subsidiaries Óxidos de Pasco, Empresa Administradora Cerro and Empresa Minera Paragsha as defendants. The Cerro de Pasco mine from above. Image courtesy of SkyTruth/Flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Some of the operation is located in the center of the city, with a population of more than 74,000. As a result, particulate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/lawsuit-demands-accountability-for-cerro-de-pasco-mining-pollution-in-peru/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/lawsuit-demands-accountability-for-cerro-de-pasco-mining-pollution-in-peru/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321332</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>U.S. defense spending on critical minerals surges in the last decade</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/us-defense-spending-on-critical-minerals-surges-in-the-last-decade/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/us-defense-spending-on-critical-minerals-surges-in-the-last-decade/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jun 2026 00:27:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/09124419/4-Wild-horses-gallop-on-the-Fort-McDermitt-Paiute-Shoshone-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320809</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Finance, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Land Rights, Military, Mining, Mongabay investigation, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the past decade, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) spending for critical minerals transformed from virtually nonexistent into a major revenue stream, with the last five years delivering a dramatic surge in both contract volume and dollar value. The Pentagon and other defense-adjacent agencies&#8217; growing appetite for these projects is already visible in affected [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over the past decade, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) spending for critical minerals transformed from virtually nonexistent into a major revenue stream, with the last five years delivering a dramatic surge in both contract volume and dollar value. The Pentagon and other defense-adjacent agencies&#8217; growing appetite for these projects is already visible in affected communities. Several of these communities impacted by DoD-funded projects told Mongabay that state backing has fast-tracked approvals without essential environmental safeguards or meaningful consultation by companies. For this research, Mongabay aggregated information from the USAspending database — an official open data source of federal spending information — about U.S. Department of Defense grants spending on critical mineral projects for military purposes between 2015 and 2025. This figure excludes Pentagon contracts, which is a major way that the Department of Defense (DoD) spends its money. The actual amount is likely larger given that some projects may not be public due to national security reasons, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). We decided to focus only on grants, as other types of contracts are generally non-binding and do not guarantee federal spending. Mongabay found that the federal agency provided an estimated $621 million on grants for critical mineral projects for defense purposes over the period, according to the USAspending database. Between 2021 and 2025, the DoD secured 24 agreements worth nearly $550 million (549.7 million) — up from just $31.3 million for three contracts in the previous five-year period. It poured the most funding into lithium&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/us-defense-spending-on-critical-minerals-surges-in-the-last-decade/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/us-defense-spending-on-critical-minerals-surges-in-the-last-decade/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320809</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Experts say ‘bare bones’ US laws are unfit to regulate nascent deep-sea mining industry</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/experts-say-bare-bones-us-laws-are-unfit-to-regulate-nascent-deep-sea-mining-industry/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/experts-say-bare-bones-us-laws-are-unfit-to-regulate-nascent-deep-sea-mining-industry/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jun 2026 16:14:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/09093544/u.-AP16274011795020-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320805</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Governance, Industry, Law, Marine, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is part 2 of a two-part series examining the U.S.’s efforts to begin deep-sea mining in federal waters. Part 2 examines the regulations that would govern the industry. Part 1 explored the process behind proposed lease sales in U.S. federal waters and reactions to those plans. The deep-sea mining industry could launch in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is part 2 of a two-part series examining the U.S.’s efforts to begin deep-sea mining in federal waters. Part 2 examines the regulations that would govern the industry. Part 1 explored the process behind proposed lease sales in U.S. federal waters and reactions to those plans. The deep-sea mining industry could launch in the near future in U.S. federal waters. Yet legal experts and former government officials warn that the regulations that would govern this industry are outdated and lack important oversight provisions. In April 2025, the Trump administration signaled its intention to enter the global race to mine the deep sea when it released an executive order calling for the development of the industry. Following the administration’s direction, in April 2026 the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced its plans to hold a series of seabed lease sales over the course of this year and into early next. The first one is slated for August in American Samoa, with subsequent lease sales planned for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Alaska. If these go forward, they could mark the first commercial lease processes for deep-sea mining anywhere in the world. Critics say deep-sea mining could cause large-scale and irreversible damage to the marine environment, and some governments in areas slated for leasing have even taken steps to ban deep-sea mining. In 2024, the governor of American Samoa enacted a moratorium on seabed mining from its territorial waters, which extend 3 nautical miles (5.6 kilometers)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/experts-say-bare-bones-us-laws-are-unfit-to-regulate-nascent-deep-sea-mining-industry/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/experts-say-bare-bones-us-laws-are-unfit-to-regulate-nascent-deep-sea-mining-industry/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320805</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How we tracked China’s deep-sea mining fleet</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-we-tracked-chinas-deep-sea-mining-fleet/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-we-tracked-chinas-deep-sea-mining-fleet/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 20:33:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire AlbertsKara Fox]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01160549/Model_of_Jiaolong_submersible_at_the_Five-Year_Achievements_Exhibition_-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320430</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China, Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean, Polynesia, Taiwan, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea Mining, Energy, Environment, Marine, Marine Conservation, Military, Mongabay Data Studio, Mongabay investigation, Oceans, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A version of this story was originally published by the Pulitzer Center, which supported Elizabeth Claire Alberts as an Ocean Reporting Network fellow. We didn’t set out to investigate China’s deep-sea mining fleet, but as our research into the burgeoning industry developed over our yearlong partnership, it became clear that an investigation into the fleet’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A version of this story was originally published by the Pulitzer Center, which supported Elizabeth Claire Alberts as an Ocean Reporting Network fellow. We didn’t set out to investigate China’s deep-sea mining fleet, but as our research into the burgeoning industry developed over our yearlong partnership, it became clear that an investigation into the fleet’s alleged military dual use was emerging as an important, untold story. Shortly after we embarked on our joint project, geopolitics around the deep-sea mining landscape began to shift dramatically. In February 2025, China signed an agreement with the Cook Islands government to collaborate on deep-sea mining research and exploration. At the same time, it was pursuing a similar deal with the archipelago nation of Kiribati, marking a notable expansion of Chinese influence in the Pacific. China holds the largest number of exploration contracts issued by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-affiliated deep-sea mining regulator, and is also its biggest financial contributor. It also operates the world’s largest oceanographic research fleet. Against this backdrop, we kept returning to a central question: was China’s pursuit of deep-sea mining driven solely for accessing mineral resources, or was it also shaped by broader geopolitical strategy? Through extensive reporting, we learned that China’s interest in seabed mining was motivated by both of these things, and that some of its vessels were engaged in both deep-sea mining work and militarily strategic surveillance. Meanwhile, deep-sea mining efforts have been gathering pace in the United States. In March 2025, The Metals Company,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-we-tracked-chinas-deep-sea-mining-fleet/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-we-tracked-chinas-deep-sea-mining-fleet/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320430</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As economic case for deep-sea mining weakens, industry should halt urgency to begin operation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-economic-case-for-deep-sea-mining-weakens-industry-should-halt-urgency-to-begin-operation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-economic-case-for-deep-sea-mining-weakens-industry-should-halt-urgency-to-begin-operation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 21:18:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy Whitmore]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/03110924/deep-sea-octopus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320223</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Energy, Finance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Why do we need deep-sea mining? Given the potential consequences for the health and biodiversity of the ocean, that seems a vital question to answer before any commercial mining starts. The question is even more important as the economic case for deep-sea mining is being increasingly undermined by financial evidence, and is nowhere near strong [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Why do we need deep-sea mining? Given the potential consequences for the health and biodiversity of the ocean, that seems a vital question to answer before any commercial mining starts. The question is even more important as the economic case for deep-sea mining is being increasingly undermined by financial evidence, and is nowhere near strong enough to justify the risks to ecosystems we barely understand. Deep-sea mining in international waters is a unique proposition given that the international seabed is not owned by any state. Instead, it is considered the ‘global commons,’ belonging to all of us, so that any extraction should be justified for the benefit of all humankind. Given deep-sea mining companies also have financially-mandated deadlines, the arguments for it also have to address why there is a supposed urgency. This is especially true given that scientists stress the many unknowns, both about the deep-sea environment itself and the likely cumulative impact of the industry. Over the years, those proposing deep-sea mining have come up with a number of reasons why such mining is necessary and urgent, beyond potential profit. The arguments have evolved to claim that minerals will primarily feed into the energy transition away from fossil fuels. A squat lobster in the deep sea. Image by Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). As covered by Mongabay, effective counter-arguments have questioned how necessary the specific minerals from deep-sea mining are for the energy transition, including whether ongoing changes in battery technology and demand will negate any estimated&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-economic-case-for-deep-sea-mining-weakens-industry-should-halt-urgency-to-begin-operation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320223</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru&#8217;s Quellaveco mine tied to water scarcity, contamination, investigation finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/perus-quellaveco-mine-tied-to-water-scarcity-contamination-investigation-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/perus-quellaveco-mine-tied-to-water-scarcity-contamination-investigation-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2026 18:13:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/26174151/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-14-at-3.27.18-PM-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320143</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Copper, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forests, Law, Mining, Politics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A copper mine in southern Peru that took decades to complete environmental assessments has been contaminating local watersheds with harmful metals, critics say. In its first few years of operation, the mine has allegedly endangered wildlife, threatened the local economy, and created health concerns in communities. Developers of the Quellaveco mine in Peru’s Moquegua department [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A copper mine in southern Peru that took decades to complete environmental assessments has been contaminating local watersheds with harmful metals, critics say. In its first few years of operation, the mine has allegedly endangered wildlife, threatened the local economy, and created health concerns in communities. Developers of the Quellaveco mine in Peru’s Moquegua department spent more than 20 years conducting and revising environmental assessments to responsibly extract copper and molybdenum, a metal used in industrial alloys. But after the mine started operating in 2022, the impacts from pollution, erosion and other issues became difficult to ignore, residents say. “[The project] has exhibited the tensions that are typical of large-scale mining in the Andean south: disputes over water in fragile basins, distrust in environmental evaluation and enforcement procedures, promises of employment and local development that are difficult to verify,” said a recent investigation by several advocacy groups, including Red Muqui, a collective of 32 NGOs in Peru. The mine is operated by Anglo American Quellaveco S.A., a subsidiary of British mining company Anglo American. The company received its first environmental impact assessment approval for the project in 2000, but then spent another two decades revising it and finishing technical permitting and negotiations with local communities. The Quellaveco mine. Image courtesy of Red Muqui. More than half of Moquegua department is covered by mining concessions, some of them causing contamination and water scarcity. Residents around the Quellaveco mine said they wanted to avoid the problems that had emerged from earlier large-scale&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/perus-quellaveco-mine-tied-to-water-scarcity-contamination-investigation-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/perus-quellaveco-mine-tied-to-water-scarcity-contamination-investigation-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320143</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Corporate capture’ of critical minerals risks repeating DRC’s extractive past, warns indigenous leader</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/corporate-capture-of-critical-minerals-risks-repeating-drcs-extractive-past-warns-indigenous-leader/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/corporate-capture-of-critical-minerals-risks-repeating-drcs-extractive-past-warns-indigenous-leader/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2026 20:46:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/22193551/53330506967_e929caaa2a_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320033</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Economics, Energy, Environment, Governance, Mining, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The global rush for minerals needed for the green energy transition risks repeating the same old extractive patterns that have long left communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo bearing the costs while others reap the benefits, an indigenous leader from the country warns. Robert Agenong’a, a civil society leader and also politician from the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The global rush for minerals needed for the green energy transition risks repeating the same old extractive patterns that have long left communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo bearing the costs while others reap the benefits, an indigenous leader from the country warns. Robert Agenong’a, a civil society leader and also politician from the Ituri Province, spoke to Mongabay at a major international cobalt meeting in Madrid earlier this month. He criticized what he described as the growing “corporate capture” of the country’s critical minerals sector. He said discussions at the May 13-15 conference — hosted by the U.K.-based Cobalt Institute and sponsored by mining giants Glencore, IXM and CMOC Group Limited, among others — focused heavily on securing cobalt supplies for electric vehicles and clean energy markets, while giving far less attention to the environmental and social fallout in mining areas. Robert Agenong’a, an Indigenous politician and civil society leader from Ituri Province in northeastern DRC. Photo courtesy of Robert Agenong’a. Previous Mongabay reporting has highlighted the severe impacts of mining on local communities, particularly on the health and well-being of women and youth. “The concern is that everyone is interested in getting Congolese cobalt to the world market because it is of very high quality,” Agenong’a said. “But nobody pays attention to the environmental harms, the social impacts, and the communities’ grievances.” A miner in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. Image by Electronics Watch via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0). The DRC produces roughly 70% of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/corporate-capture-of-critical-minerals-risks-repeating-drcs-extractive-past-warns-indigenous-leader/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/corporate-capture-of-critical-minerals-risks-repeating-drcs-extractive-past-warns-indigenous-leader/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320033</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s nickel boom linked to rising illness and worker harm, reports find</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 07:47:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rabul SawalYulia Adiningsih]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18163514/PT-IWIP-worker-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319647</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Business, Environment, Governance, Health, Human Rights, Industry, Mining, Nikel, Pollution, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HALMAHERA, Indonesia — New research examining Indonesia’s vast nickel-processing regions has documented rising rates of ill health and workplace harm linked to a key industry supplying the global energy transition. A report published in April by Indonesia’s human rights commission, known as Komnas HAM, cited Central Sulawesi provincial health data showing respiratory infections reached 305,191 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HALMAHERA, Indonesia — New research examining Indonesia’s vast nickel-processing regions has documented rising rates of ill health and workplace harm linked to a key industry supplying the global energy transition. A report published in April by Indonesia’s human rights commission, known as Komnas HAM, cited Central Sulawesi provincial health data showing respiratory infections reached 305,191 diagnoses in 2024, a 26% increase over the 262,160 cases recorded in 2023. In the Central Sulawesi district of Morowali, home to Southeast Asia’s largest nickel processing estate, the PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), the number of respiratory infections diagnosed in 2024 was 57,190. The IWIP industrial area, which has been tied to mercury and arsenic exposure. Image by Garry Latulung. A civil society coalition protests in front of the PT IWIP office in Jakarta. Image by Christ Belseran/Mongabay Indonesia. “Communities living near mining and smelter areas are at higher risk due to exposure to dust and emissions from production processes,” said Uli Parulian Sihombing, a coordinator at Komnas HAM. The rights commission called for greater state intervention to uphold rights in and around Central Sulawesi’s nickel processing estates. “Based on these findings, this study concludes that the state has failed to guarantee protection of human rights in the nickel mining and processing sector,” the Komnas HAM report concluded. The report also noted the increase in deforestation recorded on Central Sulawesi tied to the booming mining sector. “This situation is exacerbated by massive ecological damage that has led to a health crisis for communities&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319647</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kenya’s Ruto rejects “raw mineral export” future for Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/kenyas-ruto-rejects-raw-mineral-export-future-for-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/kenyas-ruto-rejects-raw-mineral-export-future-for-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 17:28:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/13165332/692856381_1576502047164396_2018090776161810834_n-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319365</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, cobalt, Critical Minerals, Economics, Energy, Environment, Governance, Mining, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Kenyan President William Ruto has called for a new economic model for Africa’s green transition, warning that the continent must not repeat the historical pattern of exporting raw materials without local value addition. Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, co-hosted by France and Kenya, Ruto said Africa’s growing reserves of critical minerals, vital [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Kenyan President William Ruto has called for a new economic model for Africa’s green transition, warning that the continent must not repeat the historical pattern of exporting raw materials without local value addition. Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, co-hosted by France and Kenya, Ruto said Africa’s growing reserves of critical minerals, vital to the global clean-energy economy, must be developed in a way that directly benefits African citizens. “We cannot accept a future in which Africa simply exports raw green minerals while industrial value addition, advanced manufacturing and technological innovation take place elsewhere. That model belongs to the past,” Ruto told delegates on May 12. “Green industrialization presents our continent with an opportunity not only to contribute meaningfully to global climate solutions but also to create jobs, expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen exports, deepen regional value chains and accelerate structural economic transformation.” A mine in Likasi in the DRC. Image by Glody Murhabazi/ AFP. Africa holds more than 30% of the world’s critical minerals — including cobalt, lithium, manganese and rare earth elements vital for producing batteries and solar panels and building wind turbines — according to the African Green Mineral Strategy. As the world transitions from fossil fuels to renewable energy, experts argue demand will surge. Estimates from the African Union show that demand for these minerals is set to double by 2040. The Nairobi summit brings together leaders, investors and climate policy experts from across Europe and Africa. Ruto emphasized that Africa possesses some of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/kenyas-ruto-rejects-raw-mineral-export-future-for-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/kenyas-ruto-rejects-raw-mineral-export-future-for-africa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319365</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tanzania cracks down on mining sector, aims for inclusivity and sustainability</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/tanzania-cracks-down-on-mining-sector-aims-for-inclusivity-and-sustainability/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/tanzania-cracks-down-on-mining-sector-aims-for-inclusivity-and-sustainability/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 May 2026 13:12:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nkwimba Nkwimba]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/07123009/Leseni-1-1-e1778157040581-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318933</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Ecology, Economics, Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Illegal Mining, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Tanzania canceled 40 mining exploration licenses and put another 43 license holders on notice in a crackdown linked to the government’s “Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow” program that aims to create a more “inclusive and sustainable” mining sector. Anthony Mavunde, the minerals minister, told journalists on April 15, in Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, that the government [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Tanzania canceled 40 mining exploration licenses and put another 43 license holders on notice in a crackdown linked to the government’s “Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow” program that aims to create a more “inclusive and sustainable” mining sector. Anthony Mavunde, the minerals minister, told journalists on April 15, in Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, that the government wanted to restore order in the mining sector, and curb violations of license conditions by mine developers who hoard mining blocks without developing them. The concerned concessions cover approximately 900 square kilometers (350 square miles), according to the minister. The government plans to reallocate some of the recovered mining blocks to women, youth and people with disabilities to expand local participation in the sector. “Some investors hold land for many years without any meaningful investment. This is wastage of economic opportunities and a catalyst for environmental destruction and conflicts,” Mavunde said. Besides holding on to the land, the 40 license holders are accused of failing to pay the requisite fees, fulfilling local content requirements (the use of domestically produced goods, services and labor) as well as failing to meet corporate social responsibility obligations. Joyce Andrew, a small-scale miner in Tanzania’s Shinyanga region, examines mined ore. Image courtesy of Shaaban Njia. “We do not want to see our resources turn into a curse. Mining must go hand in hand with environmental conservation,” Mavunde said. Stakeholders interviewed by Mongabay expressed concerns about how neglected exploration sites become hubs for unregulated mining activity, leading to severe land degradation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/tanzania-cracks-down-on-mining-sector-aims-for-inclusivity-and-sustainability/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318933</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Black cockatoo species caught in the crosshairs of global race for minerals</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/black-cockatoo-species-caught-in-the-crosshairs-of-global-race-for-minerals/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/black-cockatoo-species-caught-in-the-crosshairs-of-global-race-for-minerals/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Apr 2026 14:06:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/29073054/Cockatoo-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318368</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environmental Law, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Mining, Parrots, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Environmental organizations in southwest Australia have criticized the Australian government’s decision to grant the U.S. bauxite mining company Alcoa a national interest exemption, usually provided in cases of emergency, defense or national security, thereby authorizing the company to continue its operations despite years of unauthorized clearing in the country’s Northern Jarrah Forest. The Northern Jarrah [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Environmental organizations in southwest Australia have criticized the Australian government’s decision to grant the U.S. bauxite mining company Alcoa a national interest exemption, usually provided in cases of emergency, defense or national security, thereby authorizing the company to continue its operations despite years of unauthorized clearing in the country’s Northern Jarrah Forest. The Northern Jarrah Forest, one of the world’s most biodiverse temperate forests, has faced threats since European settlers first occupied it in 1836. Between 1960 and 2020, 32,130 hectares (79,394 acres) were cleared for bauxite mining alone. As remediation for the illegal clearings, the government reached an agreement with Alcoa on Feb. 18, which involves the company paying A$55 million (about $39.5 million) through enforceable undertakings, including a range of environmental rectification works, such as ecological offsets to preserve habitats and conservation programs for black cockatoo species. Environmental organizations, such as BirdLife Western Australia and the Biodiversity Council, say these measures are insufficient to prevent the extinction of the Baudin’s black cockatoo (Zanda baudinii). The bird is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and it depends on the Northern Jarrah Forest for feeding during the nonbreeding season. “The reason the birds are in trouble is because of habitat loss and habitat degradation,” Mark Henryon, the chair of the BirdLife Western Australia Advocacy Committee, told Mongabay over a video call. “If you take the habitat out, we’re going to lose the birds.” The government also agreed to progress a strategic assessment agreement with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/black-cockatoo-species-caught-in-the-crosshairs-of-global-race-for-minerals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/black-cockatoo-species-caught-in-the-crosshairs-of-global-race-for-minerals/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318368</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘True success’ is a DRC that no longer needs outside help: Interview with EU envoy Fabrice Basile</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/true-success-is-a-drc-that-no-longer-needs-outside-help-interview-with-eu-envoy-fabrice-basile/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/true-success-is-a-drc-that-no-longer-needs-outside-help-interview-with-eu-envoy-fabrice-basile/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Apr 2026 13:48:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/29131440/image1_652818315_1371059395056822_1840520865405617866_n-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318390</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Economics, Environment, Governance, Mining, National Parks, Parks, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KINSHASA — Few countries are the focal point of as many expectations, tensions and contradictions as the Democratic Republic of Congo. With its vast forests, iconic protected areas and mineral resources among the most coveted in the world, the country finds itself at the heart of two global dynamics often portrayed as opposing forces: biodiversity [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KINSHASA — Few countries are the focal point of as many expectations, tensions and contradictions as the Democratic Republic of Congo. With its vast forests, iconic protected areas and mineral resources among the most coveted in the world, the country finds itself at the heart of two global dynamics often portrayed as opposing forces: biodiversity conservation and the energy transition. Cobalt, copper and lithium, the country’s strategic minerals, fuel global supply chains. At the same time, its forests play a vital role in regulating the climate. Caught between these two realities, the fundamental question remains: how can resource extraction, conservation and development be reconciled in a country still marked by insecurity, governance challenges and regional inequalities? In the capital, Kinshasa, the European Union has positioned itself as a key partner, engaging in natural resource management, the traceability of critical minerals, the financing of protected areas, and diplomatic efforts aimed at stabilizing Africa’s Great Lakes region. This presence is part of a broader approach that combines investment, structural reforms and support for public policy. In this interview, Fabrice Basile, the European Union’s chargé d’affaires (top envoy) to the DRC, reflects on this cooperation and advocates for a strategy he describes as pragmatic: strengthening transparency in the extractive sectors; supporting local economic models, such as that of Virunga National Park; and fostering a more inclusive approach that integrates local and Indigenous communities. In the face of criticism regarding past resource management or the impact of certain conservation projects, Basile emphasizes the evolution&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/true-success-is-a-drc-that-no-longer-needs-outside-help-interview-with-eu-envoy-fabrice-basile/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/true-success-is-a-drc-that-no-longer-needs-outside-help-interview-with-eu-envoy-fabrice-basile/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318390</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Malawi government suspends coal miner’s license over river pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/malawi-government-suspends-coal-miners-license-over-river-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/malawi-government-suspends-coal-miners-license-over-river-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 11:20:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20104353/3-2_Coal-mine-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317771</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Malawi, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Critical Minerals, Environment, Governance, Health, Mining, Planetary Health, Social Justice, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Malawi government has suspended the mining license of a coal company for dumping mining waste into two rivers that communities rely on for water. The suspension follows an uproar by one of the communities in Malawi’s coal mining heartland in the north of the country. Community members demanded the closure of the mine for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Malawi government has suspended the mining license of a coal company for dumping mining waste into two rivers that communities rely on for water. The suspension follows an uproar by one of the communities in Malawi’s coal mining heartland in the north of the country. Community members demanded the closure of the mine for contaminating the rivers that supply water for their domestic and agricultural needs. Preliminary investigations by government agencies responsible for water and the environment confirmed the pollution. The northern region, particularly the two districts of Karonga and Rumphi, has Malawi’s largest coal mines. The country depends on coal as a fuel for everything from tobacco curing to cement production. However, mines in the region have a track record of environmental destruction and labor violations, issues that both local rights bodies and global watchdog Human Rights Watch have exposed. In a letter dated April 8, 2026, Malawi’s Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA) announced the immediate suspension of the mining license for Coal &amp; Minerals Group Limited, the company operating the polluting mine. It cited the water contamination as “seriously threatening” the health and safety of the public and the environment. According to the MMRA, investigations by government regulatory agencies found evidence of coal-associated waste discharge into the two rivers, uncontrolled runoff from the mining pits and stockpiles, and poorly designed storage facilities to hold the mining waste, or tailings. The authority also noted that the company did not have critical plans such as a mining operations&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/malawi-government-suspends-coal-miners-license-over-river-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/malawi-government-suspends-coal-miners-license-over-river-pollution/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317771</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Asia’s longest free-flowing river contaminated by arsenic linked to Myanmar mines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/asias-longest-free-flowing-river-contaminated-by-arsenic-linked-to-myanmar-mines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/asias-longest-free-flowing-river-contaminated-by-arsenic-linked-to-myanmar-mines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 02:52:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/14102130/IMG_0208-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317477</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, Salween River, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Critical Minerals, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Energy Transition, extractives, Fisheries, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, International Trade, Mining, Pollution, Public Health, Renewable Energy, Resource Conflict, Rivers, Traditional People, Tropics, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MAE HONG SON, Thailand — Saw Si Paw Rak Salween guns the wooden fishing boat’s engine and steers along the river that inspired his family name. He is ethnic Karen — his parents migrated from Myanmar’s side of the Salween River to the Thai side. When he acquired Thai citizenship, Saw Si Paw had to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MAE HONG SON, Thailand — Saw Si Paw Rak Salween guns the wooden fishing boat’s engine and steers along the river that inspired his family name. He is ethnic Karen — his parents migrated from Myanmar’s side of the Salween River to the Thai side. When he acquired Thai citizenship, Saw Si Paw had to select his own family name, a convention not followed in much of Myanmar. He settled on Rak Salween, which translates to “Love the Salween River.” Saw Si Paw’s love for the wild, free-flowing waterway extends beyond his chosen name. Together with his father, he guides the boat to his family’s 8-meter (26-foot) fishing nets left overnight on the Myanmar side of the river. Fishing is all he’s ever known, having learned the trade from his father and plied it on the Salween his entire life. So, it was especially jarring for him to hear about toxic chemicals recently found in the Salween. Independent testing of the Salween River began in September 2025, when researchers from Thailand’s Institute of Health Sciences Research at Chiang Mai University found alarming levels of contamination detected in the nearby Kok, Sai and Ruak rivers in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in Thailand, much of which has been linked to unregulated mining in Myanmar. In particular, rare earth mines exporting crucial minerals — needed for artificial intelligence, mobile phones, laptops, electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies, among other things — have been blamed. But the mining of gold and various critical&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/asias-longest-free-flowing-river-contaminated-by-arsenic-linked-to-myanmar-mines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/asias-longest-free-flowing-river-contaminated-by-arsenic-linked-to-myanmar-mines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317477</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deep-sea wildernesses are more important than the promise of seafloor mining (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/deep-sea-wildernesses-are-more-important-than-the-promise-of-seafloor-mining-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/deep-sea-wildernesses-are-more-important-than-the-promise-of-seafloor-mining-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Apr 2026 18:23:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andrew D. Thaler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/21170043/FK210726-Dive443-BubblegumCoral-20210728-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317523</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Oceania, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, and Papua New Guinea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Business, Commentary, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Environment, Ethics, Fisheries, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When I set sail on the MV NorSky in the summer of 2008 to probe the depths of Manus Basin off the coast of Papua New Guinea, I believed in the promise of deep-sea mining. As an early-career deep-sea ecologist, I was swayed by arguments in favor of this emerging industry. It offered a new [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When I set sail on the MV NorSky in the summer of 2008 to probe the depths of Manus Basin off the coast of Papua New Guinea, I believed in the promise of deep-sea mining. As an early-career deep-sea ecologist, I was swayed by arguments in favor of this emerging industry. It offered a new way to obtain the metals needed for the renewable energy revolution, one allegedly free of the human rights and environmental abuses of terrestrial mining. The company was Nautilus Minerals, and the plan was to mine an active hydrothermal vent field called Solwara I. What is a hydrothermal vent and why would anyone want to mine one? When seawater is drawn down into the earth and heated under enormous pressure, it rises through cracks in the crust, erupting from the seafloor in metal-rich plumes. Those metals are deposited on the walls of a growing chimney. Deep-sea miners call this structure a seafloor massive sulfide. They can be rich in gold and silver, as well as copper, zinc, lead and rare earth elements. By most estimates, Solwara I is among the most valuable seafloor massive sulfides ever discovered. And it is not only rich in metals, it is rich with life. The dumbo octopus is a species only found in the deep sea. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. The communities that grow around hydrothermal vents depend on the chemical energy of the vent plume. The geological process that deposits metals also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/deep-sea-wildernesses-are-more-important-than-the-promise-of-seafloor-mining-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/deep-sea-wildernesses-are-more-important-than-the-promise-of-seafloor-mining-analysis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317523</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Repeated failures expose gaps in Indonesia’s nickel waste management</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/repeated-failures-expose-gaps-in-indonesias-nickel-waste-management/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/repeated-failures-expose-gaps-in-indonesias-nickel-waste-management/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Apr 2026 05:51:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/13034411/imip_landslide_2026-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317395</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, North Maluku, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Disasters, Earthquakes, Electric Cars, Energy, Health, Nikel, Planetary Health, Pollution, Waste, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In February 2026, videos circulating on social media showed a mass of mining waste rushing downslope like thick mud, engulfing excavators and bulldozers within seconds as operators scrambled to escape. That landslide of mining waste, or tailings as it’s known in the industry, occurred on Feb. 18 at a storage area in Morowali [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In February 2026, videos circulating on social media showed a mass of mining waste rushing downslope like thick mud, engulfing excavators and bulldozers within seconds as operators scrambled to escape. That landslide of mining waste, or tailings as it’s known in the industry, occurred on Feb. 18 at a storage area in Morowali industrial area in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province, a key hub of the country’s nickel industry. The facility was operated by PT QMB, a tenant of the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), and the incident left an excavator operator dead. Steven Emerman, a hydrogeologist and mining waste expert who reviewed the videos, concluded that they showed the phenomenon of liquefaction — a failure in which partially dried mining waste suddenly behaves like a liquid. “The video clearly shows liquefaction of a filtered tailings stack,” he told Mongabay. Filtered, or “dry stack” tailings are widely promoted as a safer alternative for storing mining waste than the wet sludge held behind conventional tailings dams. The material is filtered to remove its water content and stacked on land as a damp, soil-like mass. But a new report by U.S.-based environmental NGO Earthworks that Emerman contributed to raises concerns about how the technology is being applied in Indonesia. It says some facilities are being built “taller and contain more waste than they can safely hold,” and cites problems with design, drainage and quality control. These risks are compounded by the rapid expansion of Indonesia’s nickel industry, raising concerns about the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/repeated-failures-expose-gaps-in-indonesias-nickel-waste-management/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/repeated-failures-expose-gaps-in-indonesias-nickel-waste-management/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317395</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>24 new species found in ocean zone eyed for battery metals mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/24-new-species-found-in-ocean-zone-eyed-for-battery-metals-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/24-new-species-found-in-ocean-zone-eyed-for-battery-metals-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 01:58:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09014340/CCZ-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317236</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Environment, Forest Destruction, Mining, New Discovery, Oceans, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers pulled 24 tiny new creatures from a deep abyss in the central Pacific Ocean, some with long, spindly legs and others with more squat, compact bodies. Some appeared to feed on the sediment itself, while others had large claws suggesting they prey on other creatures living in the mud. The discoveries, published in ZooKeys, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers pulled 24 tiny new creatures from a deep abyss in the central Pacific Ocean, some with long, spindly legs and others with more squat, compact bodies. Some appeared to feed on the sediment itself, while others had large claws suggesting they prey on other creatures living in the mud. The discoveries, published in ZooKeys, come from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a roughly 6-million-square-kilometer (2.3-million-square-mile) expanse of seabed between Hawai‘i and Mexico. The newly described species are all amphipods, a diverse group of crustaceans. The shrimp-like creatures, most about a centimeter long, or less than half an inch, have evolved in the deep sea, some 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) below the surface, over millions of years. Among the finds was a completely new superfamily, Mirabestioidea, and a new family, Mirabestiidae, representing previously unknown evolutionary lineages. &#8220;If you imagine that on planet Earth, we know about carnivorous mammals, we know that bears exist and we know that the families of cats exist, it would be like finding dogs,&#8221; Tammy Horton, a researcher at the U.K.&#8217;s National Oceanography Centre and co-lead of the study, told Inside Climate News. Collage of the 24 new Amphipod species identified in Clarion-Clipperton Zone, CC BY, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton Scientists collected the specimens by extracting large cubes of mud from the seabed, known as box cores, and hauling them up to a research ship. After washing and sieving the cores, researchers found a variety of amphipods nestled among the mud and metallic nodules. During a weeklong&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/24-new-species-found-in-ocean-zone-eyed-for-battery-metals-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/24-new-species-found-in-ocean-zone-eyed-for-battery-metals-mining/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317236</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s deforestation surges 66% in 2025, reversing years of decline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indonesias-deforestation-surges-66-in-2025-reversing-years-of-decline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indonesias-deforestation-surges-66-in-2025-reversing-years-of-decline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Apr 2026 03:50:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/10103728/Nickel-Mining-on-Manuran-Island-Auriga-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316903</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Papua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, data, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Energy, Food, food security, Forest Loss, Palm Oil, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s deforestation surged in 2025, rising 66% from the previous year, marking a sharp reversal after several years of decline, according to new data from the NGO Auriga Nusantara. Based on satellite analysis, Auriga estimates that 433,751 hectares (1.1 million acres) of forest, an area more than twice the size of London, were [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s deforestation surged in 2025, rising 66% from the previous year, marking a sharp reversal after several years of decline, according to new data from the NGO Auriga Nusantara. Based on satellite analysis, Auriga estimates that 433,751 hectares (1.1 million acres) of forest, an area more than twice the size of London, were lost in 2025, the highest level in eight years. Forest loss had previously fallen to a historic low in 2021, following five consecutive years of decline since 2017, driven in part by a series of forest protection policies under former President Joko Widodo. But since 2022, the trend has reversed, with deforestation rising again before spiking in 2025 across all of Indonesia’s major islands. “The surge in deforestation in 2025 is truly distressing, taking Indonesia back to a time when it was at its highest,” said Auriga executive director Timer Manurung. The trend stands in contrast to developments in the Amazon, where deforestation has declined for three consecutive years following renewed enforcement and federal efforts under Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In 2025, deforestation in the biome fell 11.1% to 579,600 hectares (1.4 million acres), the lowest level in more than a decade. “Brazil’s deforestation, concentrated in the Amazon, is declining. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s is increasing. So it’s possible Indonesia could become the world’s top deforester among tropical countries in 2025,” Timer said. Auriga’s findings are broadly consistent with early signals from official data. While the government has yet to release full-year figures for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indonesias-deforestation-surges-66-in-2025-reversing-years-of-decline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indonesias-deforestation-surges-66-in-2025-reversing-years-of-decline/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316903</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US-Indonesia trade deal slammed as ‘extractive colonialism’ over mining, fossil fuels</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/us-indonesia-trade-deal-slammed-as-extractive-colonialism-over-mining-fossil-fuels/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/us-indonesia-trade-deal-slammed-as-extractive-colonialism-over-mining-fossil-fuels/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Mar 2026 01:31:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/13133048/indonesia-deforestation-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316400</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Coal, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, Energy, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Industry, Mining, Renewable Energy, and Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Environmental activists are sounding the alarm over a new trade agreement between the U.S. and Indonesia that they warn could accelerate mining expansion, fossil fuel dependence and forest loss, while offering only weak, nonbinding environmental safeguards. Critics say the deal risks reshaping Indonesia’s development trajectory by prioritizing resource extraction over ecological protection, shifting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Environmental activists are sounding the alarm over a new trade agreement between the U.S. and Indonesia that they warn could accelerate mining expansion, fossil fuel dependence and forest loss, while offering only weak, nonbinding environmental safeguards. Critics say the deal risks reshaping Indonesia’s development trajectory by prioritizing resource extraction over ecological protection, shifting environmental and social costs onto vulnerable communities. The agreement was signed on Feb. 19 after months of negotiations triggered by the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which imposed a 32% levy on Indonesian exports. However, a day after the signing, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs, raising questions about the legal and political basis of any deals negotiated in response to a measure that no longer exists. Despite this, the Indonesian government is pushing ahead with the deal. In a March 14 press statement, officials said the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) would remain the main reference point for bilateral trade ties, describing developments including the Supreme Court ruling as domestic matters for the U.S. “At its core, this is a matter of administrative law in their country, so they must follow that investigation process. But our reference remains the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, so we will simply proceed,” said Haryo Limanseto, a spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs. The agreement is set to take effect 90 days after all legal processes are completed in both countries. In Indonesia, that includes consultation with the House of Representatives. Framed in part around&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/us-indonesia-trade-deal-slammed-as-extractive-colonialism-over-mining-fossil-fuels/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/us-indonesia-trade-deal-slammed-as-extractive-colonialism-over-mining-fossil-fuels/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316400</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>4 months after DRC mine spill, residents remain impacted</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/4-months-after-drc-mine-spill-residents-remain-impacted/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/4-months-after-drc-mine-spill-residents-remain-impacted/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2026 19:15:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie TotoRuth Kutemba]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/26190724/Riviere-Lubumbashi-au-niveau-du-pont-Kalubwe-ou-une-importante-mortalite-de-poissons-avait-ete-signalee-en-novembre-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316369</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Critical Minerals, Crops, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, Health, Mining, Pollution, Public Health, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than four months after a wastewater spill from a mine in Lubumbashi, a city located in the DRC’s copper and cobalt belt, residents say they are still facing impacts from the pollution. The spill on Nov. 4, 2025, originating from the retention pond of the mining company Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM), a subsidiary [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than four months after a wastewater spill from a mine in Lubumbashi, a city located in the DRC’s copper and cobalt belt, residents say they are still facing impacts from the pollution. The spill on Nov. 4, 2025, originating from the retention pond of the mining company Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM), a subsidiary of the Chinese giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Industry Co., Ltd., flooded several outlying neighborhoods and polluted local waterways. The incident led to an initial three-month suspension, requiring the repair of environmental damage and compensation for affected residents. However, to date, the government has not yet officially authorized the company to resume operations after the three-month suspension. Following the findings of the interministerial commission of inquiry into the environmental incident, released on Feb. 13, the government announced health assistance measures, treatment efforts as well as the launch of a compensation process for victims. Public information remains limited regarding the concrete implementation of these compensation payments and the exact number of beneficiaries. Some residents fear they will not be included and highlight that they have continued to suffer damage to their crops, limited access to clean water and health impacts for the past several months. Mongabay visited three neighborhoods affected by the spill to gather on-the-ground accounts. When contacted by Mongabay for further information, the CDM and various representatives of the Haut-Katanga and national authorities did not respond. Crops in the Golf-les-Battants neighborhood According to residents who speak with Mongabay, in some community gardens, crops stopped growing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/4-months-after-drc-mine-spill-residents-remain-impacted/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/4-months-after-drc-mine-spill-residents-remain-impacted/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316369</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mining rush for critical minerals threatens Amazon land reform settlements</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/mining-rush-for-critical-minerals-threatens-amazon-land-reform-settlements/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/mining-rush-for-critical-minerals-threatens-amazon-land-reform-settlements/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 18:49:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Cícero Pedrosa NetoIsabel HarariSam Cowie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09165555/para-mining-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315432</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cities, Conservation, Copper, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Land Conflict, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Rainforests, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Families awaiting land reform in the Amazon now face a surge in mining that can destroy their chance at a decent life.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Leia em português. &nbsp; PARAUAPEBAS, Brazil — On a dirt road that cuts through the Rio Novo settlement in the southeast of Pará state, battered motorcycles carry small loads of organic food to sell in the city, while passing trucks loaded with minerals for export. Parauapebas, Brazil’s so-called “mining capital,” hosts numerous rural worker communities, including the 5,000 families of Terra e Liberdade, the largest landless encampment in Brazil. The city is also home to the largest open-pit iron ore mine in the world, in addition to other valuable deposits. The scene of historical land conflicts, such as the Eldorado dos Carajás massacre, in which 21 people died after being shot by military police during a protest in 1996, southeastern Pará is now witnessing a new front of dispute. Driven by the energy transition, mining companies are eyeing land in already established agrarian reform settlements, seeking deposits of three minerals essential to the arms and high-tech industries: copper, manganese and nickel. These elements are used in equipment such as chips, wind turbines, electric cars, military jets and warships. An exclusive survey by Repórter Brasil in partnership with Mongabay, based on data from the National Mining Agency (ANM), identified 676 mining processes for copper, manganese and nickel in Carajás since 1969. A quarter of them (166) were filed in the last five years (2021–25). Illegal copper mining area in the Carajás region, southeastern Pará. Image courtesy of Cícero Pedrosa/Repórter Brasil. Of the total number of requests, 292 (43%) relate to 82&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/mining-rush-for-critical-minerals-threatens-amazon-land-reform-settlements/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315432</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US firm Virtus Minerals closes in on deal for crucial DRC copper and cobalt mines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/us-firm-virtus-minerals-closes-in-on-deal-for-crucial-drc-copper-and-cobalt-mines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/us-firm-virtus-minerals-closes-in-on-deal-for-crucial-drc-copper-and-cobalt-mines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2026 15:04:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/26143025/image2___IMG_6946bis2-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314883</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Economics, Environment, Governance, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Virtus Minerals, a U.S.-based firm backed by the Trump administration, is inching closer to acquiring the assets of Chemaf, a troubled copper and cobalt miner that works in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to media reports. If the deal is approved by the DRC’s state mining company, Gécamines, it would be one of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Virtus Minerals, a U.S.-based firm backed by the Trump administration, is inching closer to acquiring the assets of Chemaf, a troubled copper and cobalt miner that works in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to media reports. If the deal is approved by the DRC’s state mining company, Gécamines, it would be one of the most significant acquisitions of extractive rights in the region by a U.S. corporation since the two countries signed a “strategic partnership agreement” for critical mineral access in December. The agreement is part of a push by the U.S. to reassert itself in global critical mineral supply chains, which have been dominated by Chinese firms in recent years. At a diplomatic summit convened by the U.S. in February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that securing access to those minerals was a “priority for this administration at the highest order.” With its vast reserves of cobalt, copper, tungsten and other minerals that are vital to advanced industries like artificial intelligence and clean energy, the DRC is center stage in this effort, and has been a recent focus of the Trump administration’s foreign policy in Africa. The partnership agreement was announced in Washington just a day before a ceremony was held at the White House between DRC President Félix Tshishekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame to cement a U.S.-brokered peace deal between the two countries. In his comments at the event, U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear his administration’s involvement in the deal — which has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/us-firm-virtus-minerals-closes-in-on-deal-for-crucial-drc-copper-and-cobalt-mines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/us-firm-virtus-minerals-closes-in-on-deal-for-crucial-drc-copper-and-cobalt-mines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314883</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scrutiny grows over DRC-US minerals deal, even as other African nations sign up</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/scrutiny-grows-over-drc-us-minerals-deal-even-as-other-african-nations-sign-up/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/scrutiny-grows-over-drc-us-minerals-deal-even-as-other-african-nations-sign-up/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2026 06:01:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/11222303/e.-BANNER-Artisanal_cobalt_miners_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_Congo-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314167</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Economics, Environment, Environmental Policy, Mining, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On Feb 4, the U.S. hosted the Critical Minerals Ministerial, a summit bringing together delegations from more than 50 countries, including seven African countries, with the aim of securing access to the critical minerals used in everything from electric vehicles to semiconductors. Among the countries attending the summit was Guinea, a West African nation rich [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On Feb 4, the U.S. hosted the Critical Minerals Ministerial, a summit bringing together delegations from more than 50 countries, including seven African countries, with the aim of securing access to the critical minerals used in everything from electric vehicles to semiconductors. Among the countries attending the summit was Guinea, a West African nation rich in bauxite and iron deposits. Its delegation, represented by the minister of mines, Bouna Sylla, signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on Feb. 5. Morocco also signed an MoU with the U.S. at the summit, joining a handful of other African countries that have done so in recent months. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda signed partnership agreements with the U.S. in December. The deals marked an acceleration in U.S. efforts to gain access to and exploit critical minerals, an industry dominated by China. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2024, most of the global processing of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earth minerals was done by China. Without naming China, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a press meeting on Feb 4, that the critical minerals supply is  &#8220;heavily concentrated in the hands of one country. And that lends itself to, at worst-case scenario, being used as a tool of leverage in geopolitics.” He added: “I think there’s a growing global recognition that we need to have supply chains for critical minerals that are reliable and diverse across the world.” Photographers capture the group of ministers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/scrutiny-grows-over-drc-us-minerals-deal-even-as-other-african-nations-sign-up/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/scrutiny-grows-over-drc-us-minerals-deal-even-as-other-african-nations-sign-up/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314167</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous concerns surface as U.S. agency considers seabed mining in Alaskan waters</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/indigenous-concerns-surface-as-u-s-agency-considers-seabed-mining-in-alaskan-waters/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/indigenous-concerns-surface-as-u-s-agency-considers-seabed-mining-in-alaskan-waters/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Feb 2026 16:27:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anita Hofschneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/04113736/alaska-whale-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314054</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Alaska, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Culture, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Mining, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A U.S. federal agency is considering allowing companies to lease more than 45.7 million hectares (113 million acres) of waters off Alaska for seabed mining. Alaska is the latest of several places President Donald Trump has sought to open to the fledging industry over the past year, including waters around American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A U.S. federal agency is considering allowing companies to lease more than 45.7 million hectares (113 million acres) of waters off Alaska for seabed mining. Alaska is the latest of several places President Donald Trump has sought to open to the fledging industry over the past year, including waters around American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Like those Pacific islands, Alaska is home to Indigenous peoples with ancestral ties to the ocean, and the proposal is raising cultural and environmental concerns. Deep-sea mining, the practice of scraping minerals off the ocean floor for commercial products like electric vehicle batteries and military technology, is not yet a commercial industry. It’s been slowed by the lack of regulations governing permits in international waters and by concerns about the environmental impact of extracting minerals that formed over millions of years. Scientists have warned the practice could damage fisheries and fragile ecosystems that could take millennia to recover. Indigenous peoples have also pushed back, citing violations of their rights to consent to projects in their territories. Trump, however, has voiced strong support for the industry as part of his effort to make the United States a leader in critical mineral production. He has also pushed for U.S. companies to mine in international waters, bypassing ongoing global negotiations over international mining regulations. Kate Finn, a citizen of the Osage Nation and executive director of the Tallgrass Institute Center for Indigenous Economic Stewardship in Colorado, said she worries the seabed mining industry will repeat the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/indigenous-concerns-surface-as-u-s-agency-considers-seabed-mining-in-alaskan-waters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/indigenous-concerns-surface-as-u-s-agency-considers-seabed-mining-in-alaskan-waters/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314054</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Landslides claim more than 220 lives in DRC’s Rubaya coltan mining site</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/landslides-claim-more-than-220-lives-in-drcs-rubaya-coltan-mining-site/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/landslides-claim-more-than-220-lives-in-drcs-rubaya-coltan-mining-site/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Feb 2026 07:09:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Didier Makal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/27133330/13406579753_9b72465784_b-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313944</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[cobalt, Critical Minerals, Energy, extractives, Human Rights, Mining, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than 220 people were killed in two successive landslides on Jan. 28 and 29 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The victims were artisanal miners known as “diggers.” The accident occurred at the Luwowo mining site in Gasasa, within the Rubaya mining perimeter in Masisi territory, North Kivu. Mines in this area produce around [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than 220 people were killed in two successive landslides on Jan. 28 and 29 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The victims were artisanal miners known as “diggers.” The accident occurred at the Luwowo mining site in Gasasa, within the Rubaya mining perimeter in Masisi territory, North Kivu. Mines in this area produce around 15% of the global supply of coltan. Since April 2024, this area has been controlled by the M23, the largest armed group in Congolese territory, supported by Rwanda, according to the United Nations. The accident occurred as a result of successive risky activities on the rugged and unstable terrain, which was prone to landslides. Prior to the accident, heavy rains had fallen on the region until Jan. 27, the day before. On Jan. 28, the first landslide occurred, according to Ignace Tusali, a journalist with Rubaya&#8217;s Amani community radio station, who was contacted by Mongabay on Feb. 1. This landslide was followed by another on Jan. 29. An ecological tragedy The diggers work with pickaxes. They delve into long tunnels that they dig in search of coltan, a mineral essential in the manufacture of various gadgets, including cell phones. These tunnels often do not comply with safety measures such as the distance between diggers to ensure soil stability. Inside, where copper and cobalt are mined by hand, the tunnel walls are supported only by pieces of wood, as is also the case in Katanga in southeastern DRC, where previous accidents have occurred. Around the Luwowo&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/landslides-claim-more-than-220-lives-in-drcs-rubaya-coltan-mining-site/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313944</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What’s happening with the global treaty to trace critical minerals?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-happening-with-the-global-treaty-to-trace-critical-minerals/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-happening-with-the-global-treaty-to-trace-critical-minerals/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Feb 2026 22:26:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/18094245/copper-bearing-ore-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313688</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Critical Minerals, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, Human Rights, Illegal Mining, Mining, Politics, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The negotiations were intense, says Julia Peña Niño, the Colombia country manager at the Natural Resource Governance Institute. At the seventh U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi last December, behind closed doors, Colombia’s joint proposal with Oman was facing resistance from several member states. The Colombian government wanted a legally binding global treaty on sustainability [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The negotiations were intense, says Julia Peña Niño, the Colombia country manager at the Natural Resource Governance Institute. At the seventh U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi last December, behind closed doors, Colombia’s joint proposal with Oman was facing resistance from several member states. The Colombian government wanted a legally binding global treaty on sustainability and tracing the flow of critical minerals around the world, as it has been pushing in several U.N. meetings. In the end, it left with a simple three-point nonbinding resolution to enhance international dialogue and cooperation on mineral governance as well as resource recovery from mining waste and tailings. The resolution tried to close the door on further negotiations, but some organizations say the next U.N. Environment Assembly in December 2027 could be grounds for considering a potential global minerals treaty. The intensity of the negotiations reflected “both the urgency to act and the political complexity of addressing the various facets of minerals value chains,” Peña Niño told Mongabay via email. Some observers remain cynical and say national security concerns and economic development played a hand in pushing down the traceability treaty. According to analysts, tracking the flow of minerals is complex work — but may be vital in order to prevent and mitigate the socioenvironmental damage caused by surging mineral demand to feed renewable technology and military industries, such as forest degradation, river contamination and and land-grabs from Indigenous peoples. Geopolitics, elections, intricate supply chains and governance issues all make it more complex. While&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-happening-with-the-global-treaty-to-trace-critical-minerals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313688</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru to invest $7.6 billion to continue critical minerals extraction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/peru-to-invest-7-6-billion-to-continue-critical-minerals-extraction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/peru-to-invest-7-6-billion-to-continue-critical-minerals-extraction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jan 2026 22:50:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/28144258/1047925-whatsapp-image-2024-10-28-at-9-30-18-am-1-768x501.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313414</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Critical Minerals, Environment, Environmental Law, Indigenous Peoples, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Mining, Politics, Pollution, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Peru plans to reinforce its mining sector this year with billions of dollars in investment across several ongoing projects, some of them with a history of environmental damage. The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced it will invest $7.6 billion to expand and improve mining operations that extract zinc, lead, tin, silver, copper and gold. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Peru plans to reinforce its mining sector this year with billions of dollars in investment across several ongoing projects, some of them with a history of environmental damage. The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced it will invest $7.6 billion to expand and improve mining operations that extract zinc, lead, tin, silver, copper and gold. While many of these minerals are critical for the clean energy transition, their extraction has also contributed to pollution and land use change. “Peru currently has exceptional conditions to continue leading the production of strategic minerals, attract new investments and consolidate its position as an indispensable player in the global energy transition,” a statement from the ministry said. Many of the minerals found in Peru are vital for developing batteries, turbines, solar panels and other technology that will lower global carbon emission rates. In recent years, the country has been working to better leverage those resources by establishing new international agreements on energy issues and strengthening the mining sector. The $7.6 billion will mostly go to upgrading infrastructure and operation safety and efficiency at eight mine sites, in some cases extending their lifespans by several years. These include Pampa de Pongo, Cerro Verde and Zafranal mines in the Arequipa region, the Corani mine in the Puno region and the Huarón mine in the Pasco region. Others will expand land use and mineral processing to help increase output. While that contributes to the clean energy market, it also comes with environmental risks. The Huancapetí mine in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/peru-to-invest-7-6-billion-to-continue-critical-minerals-extraction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313414</doi>				</item>
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					<title>DRC plans to export 100,000 metric tons of copper to the US</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/drc-plans-to-export-100000-metric-tons-of-copper-to-the-us/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/drc-plans-to-export-100000-metric-tons-of-copper-to-the-us/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jan 2026 13:49:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/26120324/20240720_172221-1200x800-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[cobalt, Copper, Critical Minerals, Mining, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shared with the U.S. administration a list of state-backed projects for investment consideration in which critical minerals like copper, manganese and lithium are being mined, according to Reuters. The Central African nation had already announced plans to ship 100,000 metric tons of copper to the U.S. by the end [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shared with the U.S. administration a list of state-backed projects for investment consideration in which critical minerals like copper, manganese and lithium are being mined, according to Reuters. The Central African nation had already announced plans to ship 100,000 metric tons of copper to the U.S. by the end of January. The move operationalizes a strategic partnership between the U.S. and the DRC, one conceived alongside the peace deal the U.S. helped broker between the DRC and Rwanda. The US signed a series of bilateral agreements with the two African countries, which U.S. President Donald Trump touted not just as a diplomatic victory but also an economic win for the U.S. “Today, the United States is also signing our own bilateral agreements with the Congo and Rwanda that will unlock new opportunities for the United States to access critical minerals and provide economic benefits for everybody,” Trump said at the peace deal signing ceremony. Since February 2025, parts of eastern DRC along the Rwanda-DRC frontier have been under the control of M23, an armed group allegedly backed by Rwanda. This was a major escalation of a long-simmering dispute in the politically volatile part of the Great Lakes region. In response, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi requested assistance from his U.S. counterpart, who mediated a peace deal, the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, between the two countries. “We&#8217;ll be involved. We&#8217;re sending some of our biggest and greatest companies over to the two countries, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/drc-plans-to-export-100000-metric-tons-of-copper-to-the-us/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313322</doi>				</item>
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					<title>In the race for DRC’s critical minerals, community forests are on the frontline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/in-the-race-for-drcs-critical-minerals-community-forests-stand-on-the-frontline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/in-the-race-for-drcs-critical-minerals-community-forests-stand-on-the-frontline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jan 2026 08:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Didier MakalLatoya Abulu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/927W7CV-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312862</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Cobalt Capital, Global Forests, and Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Environment, Environmental Policy, extractives, Forests, Illegal Mining, Industry, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Military, Mining, Politics, Savannas, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LIKASI, Democratic Republic of Congo — North of the limits of the Lukutwe community forest concession, two armed soldiers stepped in front of Valery Kyembo and his visitors. Wearing a bright orange vest with the logo of a reforestation project, Kyembo was guiding our journalists through a heavily deforested area in the copper-cobalt belt of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[LIKASI, Democratic Republic of Congo — North of the limits of the Lukutwe community forest concession, two armed soldiers stepped in front of Valery Kyembo and his visitors. Wearing a bright orange vest with the logo of a reforestation project, Kyembo was guiding our journalists through a heavily deforested area in the copper-cobalt belt of the Democratic Republic of Congo, stepping around newly planted seedlings, when he was stopped by members of the FARDC, the national armed forces. Behind them stood a barrier to control access to a semi-industrial mine. &#8220;We are visiting the boundaries of our community’s property,&#8221; Kyembo tried to explain, before one of the soldiers brandished his automatic weapon to make him turn back. The land in question is the Lukutwe community forest concession (CFCL), 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Lubumbashi, the second-largest city in the DRC. The concession is a titled property created in the mineral-rich area of southeastern DRC by village leaders who sought to protect their land rights and miombo forests against a growing wave of mining companies taking up lands. Valery Kyembo walking in the Lukutwe forest concession in Likasi on November 26, 2025. Image by Glody MURHABAZI / AFP. Ten years ago, the displacement of nearby famers from the villages of Bungubungu and Shilasimba by Société d&#8217;Exploitation de Kipoi (SEK), a company owned by Australia-based Tiger Resources in search of copper and cobalt, sparked worry in Lukutwe village that their village could be next. &#8220;That’s why when the environmental project came to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/in-the-race-for-drcs-critical-minerals-community-forests-stand-on-the-frontline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312862</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top 10 Indigenous news stories that marked 2025</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/top-10-indigenous-news-stories-that-marked-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/top-10-indigenous-news-stories-that-marked-2025/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2025 16:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/10035751/54921851385_181af8ccc9_c-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312174</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Environment, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Politics, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[2025 saw a mix of news sweep through Indigenous communities around the world, touching on issues both new and old. Efforts to increase direct funding to support Indigenous peoples’ land rights have persisted for more than two decades now, but this past year dealt a setback to those efforts as a result of the sudden [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[2025 saw a mix of news sweep through Indigenous communities around the world, touching on issues both new and old. Efforts to increase direct funding to support Indigenous peoples’ land rights have persisted for more than two decades now, but this past year dealt a setback to those efforts as a result of the sudden USAID funding cuts in January. That put additional strain on community-led conservation efforts in places like Ethiopia and in the Amazon Basin. Indigenous representation at climate talks was another perennial pain point. And while there was an unprecedented number of Indigenous delegates at this year’s U.N. climate conference in Brazil, COP30, Mongabay reported on the continued failure of these summits to involve Indigenous peoples in decision-making. And as always, Indigenous communities around the world continued the struggle to protect their territories, with the search for so-called critical minerals posing an increasingly serious threat. Many of these mining projects were approved without communities’ consent or sufficient environmental safeguards. Meanwhile, the age-old problem of illegal artisanal mining on Indigenous lands continued, perpetuating the pollution of the forests and rivers they depend on. The past year also saw big solutions stories. Indigenous peoples formed Indigenous guards, some of them led by women, who blend traditional protection strategies with modern technologies to protect their forests and prevent invasions of their lands. Mongabay also reported on Indigenous-led conservation initiatives to save wildlife, restore watersheds and resist the advance of monoculture farming and deforestation — even when few receive compensation for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/top-10-indigenous-news-stories-that-marked-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312174</doi>				</item>
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