US Start-Up’s Seabed Mining Plan Flouts International Law, Critics Say

The government of French Polynesia plans to challenge an American startup’s proposal to explore the waters just beyond its maritime borders for seabed mining. “We were approached, but we were not consulted,” Moetai Brotherson, the territory’s president, told Grist. “We are not remaining passive while industrial activities are proposed immediately next to ecosystems that French Polynesia has…
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Trump Admin Guts Endangered Species Act to Prioritize Corporate Interests

“Yet again, the Trump administration has sold out our endangered wildlife to the highest bidder,” said one biodiversity advocate after the US Department of Interior, in a Friday news dump, issued two new policy changes that would weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and make it easier for corporate polluters to prioritize their own bottom lines over habitat protection. The US Fish and…
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Trump’s and Commerce Secretary’s Sons Set to Profit From Tungsten Mining Deal

A bombshell New York Times report detailing how President Donald Trump’s eldest sons stand to profit from a tungsten mining deal negotiated by their billionaire father sparked outraged calls for accountability on Monday, with Democratic lawmakers characterizing the taxpayer-funded project as yet another example of the administration’s unchecked and unprecedented corruption.
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How Indigenous Organizers Defeated Plans to Mine a Sacred Black Hills Site

Indigenous organizers and environmental groups are celebrating a rare and hard-fought victory after a South Dakota mining company withdrew its plan to drill for graphite near Pe’ Sla, a sacred site in the Black Hills. The withdrawal followed a monthslong coordinated campaign that combined prayer, direct action, and legal pressure — tactics that could offer lessons for future land defense fights…
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US Mining Plan Will Sacrifice Mexico’s Environment for Weapons and Tech

The U.S. and Mexico have established a mining agreement which has Indigenous and other residents of the Sierra Norte mountains, as well as activists around Mexico, worried. Announced on February 4, the U.S.-Mexico Action Plan on Critical Minerals aims to guarantee the U.S.’s supply of minerals for its arms industry, technology like data centers and smartphones, and the so-called energy…
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The GOP Just Passed a Resolution to Open Minnesota Wilderness Up for Mining

Minnesota’s Boundary Waters comprise a vast stretch of wilderness bordering Canada, with over a million acres of untouched forest and thousands of lakes and streams. Accessible largely by canoe, it is an ecological gem and one of the most popular spots in the country for outdoor recreation. On Thursday, Senate Republicans voted 50-49 to open the area up to mining — passing a resolution that…
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