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As Chinese companies have increased their overseas mining operations, allegations of problems caused by these projects have steadily risen.
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, an NGO, says such troubles are “not unique to Chinese mining” but last year it published a report listing 102 allegations made against Chinese companies involved in extracting critical minerals, ranging from violations of the rights of local communities to damage to ecosystems and unsafe working conditions.
These allegations dated from 2021 and 2022. The BBC has counted more than 40 further allegations that were made in 2023, and reported by NGOs or in the media.
Thankfully electric vehicles are becoming cheaper then ICE vehicles which is a very good sign that we don’t need as many rare earth metals. Unfortunately for renewable technology we still need rare earth metals, and they need to be mined using fossil fuels first. That’s the stage we’re at right now. We still need to get much better at recycling which I believe we will.
Oh and anyone that says electric vehicles are worse for the environment than ICE vehicles are idiots and shills. ICE vehicles also rely on rare earth metals and produce significant air pollution.