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by a_p
4801 days ago
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The U.S has an enormous amount of rare earth metals. [1] But the processes of extracting the ore have such a horrendous effect on the environment that the only country willing to mine the metals in significant quantities is China, and the villages in China near the mining sites have suffered as a result [2]. The U.S is rife with abuses of the environment — mountaintop removal mining, anyone? — but so far no one has been willing to match the rare earth metal production levels of China. [1] http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2642&from=rs... [2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/07/china-rare... |
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