All articles tagged with #mining
China’s Liushenyu coal mine disaster toll in Shanxi was revised downward to 82 dead from an earlier figure of 90, with 247 workers underground at the time, 128 injured, and two still unaccounted for. All four mines owned by Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Coking Group have been closed and executives detained as authorities call for safety reforms and order an investigation, making this the deadliest Chinese mining accident since 2009.
A gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi’s Qinyuan County, Shanxi Province, China, killed 90 people, according to state media, as rescuers continue to work at the scene.
In Changzhi, northeast China, carbon monoxide levels in the Liushenyu coal mine exceeded safe limits, killing four workers and trapping 90 underground; 247 were underground at the time of the incident, and by early Saturday about 157 had been evacuated, with around 16 in critical condition as rescuers press on.
Honduran authorities arrested former Tocoa mayor Adan Funez along with two accomplices on suspicion of masterminding the 2024 assassination of environmental defender Juan Lopez, a critic of a local iron-oxide mining project. Prosecutors say the trio were the intellectual authors of the killing; the case underscores ongoing environmental and political tensions in the region, with the trial slated to begin next June.
Barrick's Q1 2026 results show gold production of 719,000 oz (above the 640,000–680,000 oz guidance) and copper 49,000 t, driving operating cash flow of $2.55B and attributable free cash flow of $1.21B; net earnings were $1.60B and adjusted $1.65B, with 2026 gold guidance unchanged at 2.90–3.25 Moz. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.175 and authorized a $3.0B share buyback, while advancing growth projects (Fourmile, Lumwana) and pursuing a North American IPO planned for year-end.
Miners in war-torn Myanmar unearthed a five-pound, 11,000-carat ruby near Mogok, later shown in Naypyidaw and hailed by state media as the country’s second-largest ruby, prized for its color and transparency; the find underscores Myanmar’s pivotal role in global ruby production, but the gem trade has long drawn human-rights scrutiny for funding military rule and armed groups amid ongoing conflict.
Miners in Myanmar unearthed an 11,000-carat ruby near Mogok, the second-largest by weight found in the country, valued for its color and quality amid ongoing conflict and a volatile, war-afflicted gemstone trade that funds the military and various armed groups.
The Conversation piece by UNU researchers argues that the push to secure critical minerals for AI, EVs, wind, and digital tech risks concentrating pollution and water stress in poor communities. 2024 lithium mining alone consumed about 456 billion liters of water, with places like Chile’s Atacama using up to 65% of regional water and polluted rivers harming ecosystems. Health impacts include higher miscarriage rates, birth defects, infant mortality, cancers, and other illnesses linked to heavy metals, especially in the DRC’s cobalt and copper regions. The authors urge stronger international governance, binding supply-chain and environmental standards, local community co-governance, water-saving mining tech, better wastewater management, and greater recycling and product longevity to prevent “sacrifice zones” and ensure a just energy transition.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is deploying a paramilitary force to guard its expansive mining sites, signaling a state-led effort to secure key mineral assets amid evolving security and investment dynamics.
A Swiss EPFL study models an in-space mining-and-delivery network that would use metals from M-type asteroids to build and maintain a Mars colony, and even manufacture rocket propellant from carbonaceous asteroids in space to cut the need for return-fuel from Earth; success hinges on selecting targets with the lowest energy costs to reach and return, showing a viable path for a space-based supply chain.
USA Rare Earth will acquire Serra Verde in Goiás, Brazil, for $2.8 billion in a cash-and-stock deal, creating a fully integrated rare-earths platform in the US; Serra Verde is expected to account for about half of heavy rare earths outside China by 2027, underscoring Washington’s push to diversify critical minerals away from China.
The Senate narrowly approved a resolution to repeal a moratorium and allow new mining across more than 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a move that would enable Twin Metals Minnesota (a unit of Antofagasta) to pursue a copper-nickel mine close to the protected lakes and forests. The House has already passed the measure, and it goes to President Trump, who is expected to sign. Environmentalists, Native American tribes, and fishing/hunting groups have warned of water contamination and ecological damage, while supporters say the mine would provide domestic minerals and jobs; the Biden administration previously banned mining there until 2043, complicating Twin Metals’ plans.
Argentina's Milei government approved a reform to the 2010 glacier protection law, letting provinces decide which glaciers are protected based on whether they serve a 'relevant water function'. Supporters say the change will attract investment in minerals essential for the energy transition, but critics warn it erodes a national environmental standard and could threaten drinking water for about 7 million Argentines who rely on glacier-fed rivers. The reform has sparked protests and drawn warnings from scientists about glaciers’ broader ecological and hydrological roles.
Argentina's Congress approved a reform to the 2010 Glacier Law that shifts protection of glacier regions from the national Ianigla agency to provincial authorities, making it easier to mine in glacier areas; supporters say it enables development, while opponents warn it endangers water resources since glaciers feed 36 river basins across 12 provinces and about seven million people. The reform keeps glaciers in the national inventory until provinces prove they are not strategic water reserves.
Venezuela is courting U.S. oil and mining investment after a diplomatic reset, touting a fast-tracked hydrocarbons law and a mining regime replica, while Cabello—indicted in the U.S. and still at the table—looms over the $25 million reward and security concerns in the mining zone.