mining

South Africa's government won't help the illegal miners inside a closed mine

3:23am November 15, 2024

Miners are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport supplies.

A lithium mine in Serbia could rev up Europe's e-vehicles, but opposition is fierce

5:00am August 23, 2024

A proposed lithium mine in Serbia is spurring protests over its potential impact on the environment. The mineral is in high demand because it’s crucial for the batteries that run electric vehicles.

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A view of the mountains surrounding the area where a landslide hit a gold mine in Ilic district of Erzincan province, in Turkey, on Tuesday.

World News

A landslide in Turkey has trapped 9 gold mine workers

3:14pm February 13, 2024

by Peter Kenyon

Nine mine workers were trapped underground after a landslide at a gold mine in Turkey's eastern Anatolia region.

The waters of the Ha' Kamwe' hot springs are healing and sacred, says Ivan Bender, the caretaker of the Cholla Canyon Ranch, which belongs to the Hualapai Tribe. Less than a hundred yards away, an Australian mining company called Arizona Lithium has been exploring for lithium.

The U.S. needs minerals for green tech. Will Western mines have enough water?

2:42pm September 26, 2023

by Julia Simon

As the U.S. plans new mines for copper, lithium and other metals to use in green technologies, mining projects in the West could threaten scarce water supplies.

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An aerial picture shows an illegal mining camp during an operation by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources against Amazon deforestation at the Yanomami territory in Roraima state, Brazil, on Feb. 24.

World News

Opinion: The global gold rush imperils the Brazilian Amazon

5:01am May 09, 2023

With the dollar weakening, people are turning to gold. Cue the acceleration of an Amazon gold rush, and with it, more challenges for Brazil, write Robert Muggah and Mac Margolis.

Rocks retrieved from a mine in Muzo, Colombia, show some of what makes the country the biggest producer of high-value emeralds.

World News

Inside the emerald mines that make Colombia a global giant of the green gem

9:54am March 11, 2023

by John Otis

NPR ventures into a Colombian emerald mine — which used to be more dangerous, with potential explosions inside and gunfights outside. The CEO, a former U.S. diplomat, says he wanted to change that.

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Jefferson Ncube, an illegal diamond miner from Zimbabwe, works on his latest tunnel at an abandoned De Beers mine near Kleinzee, South Africa. Ncube is a univeristy graduate, but has been unable to find employment.

Diamond diggers in South Africa's deserted mines break the law — and risk their lives

5:01am November 27, 2022

by Tommy Trenchard

Photos show the desperate search for scraps left by big diamond operators. But amid rampant poverty and unemployment, zama-zamas see no other way to provide for their families.