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September 19, 2025
 

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MINING

A worker displays a handful of shredded hard drive pieces for e-waste processing at a facility in Festac, Nigeria, in 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 21, 2025
Urban mining eases the critical minerals crunch 
Governments are waking up to the potential of e-waste recycling, and Japan is leading the way.
Muddied prospectors pan for gold in Manica province, Mozambique, near the Zimbabwe border, in 2010.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 20, 2025
Mozambique's illegal miners reap risky rewards but land suffers
Rivers around mining sites are polluted, and mercury has seeped into the soil, creating a nightmare for farmers.
Trucks heading toward the Jianxiawo lithium mine, in Yichun, Jiangxi province, China. The U.S. government said it will increase scrutiny of lithium, steel and other materials imported from China.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 20, 2025
U.S. targets Chinese steel and lithium for forced-labor scrutiny
The move fits within Trump's trade goals and previous government action against alleged forced labor in China.
Villagers pan for gold in Bombana district of Indonesia's Southeast Sulawesi province in 2009.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 19, 2025
Indonesia grapples with small-scale illegal gold mining
Local authorities face the challenge of encouraging villagers to keep to less-destructive ways of making money, such as sustainable agriculture.
A child collects chunks of coal near the Duvha coal-based power station in Emalahleni, in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, in 2021.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 19, 2025
South Africa artisanal miners want stake in critical minerals boom
As the nation moves away from the planet-heating coal industries toward renewables, miners — both formal and informal — fear mass unemployment.
A miner holds a sack of ore as it comes out a the mine shaft at the Rubaya coltan mine, near the town of Rubaya, which is controlled by M23 rebels, in eastern Congo on March 24.
WORLD
Aug 14, 2025
Inside the mine that feeds the tech world — and funds Congo’s rebels
The Congolese town of Rubaya produces around 15% of the world’s coltan, which is shipped thousands of kilometers away to Asia where it’s processed into tantalum.
The Jianxiawo Lithium mine in Yichun, Jiangxi province, China
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 11, 2025
Lithium market erupts as CATL shuts one of world’s biggest mines
Tianqi Lithium jumped as much as 19% in Hong Kong, while Ganfeng Lithium Group surged 21%, and Australian miners rallied.
Peruvian police seized four tons of illegal mercury from Mexico bound for Bolivia, dealing a severe blow to criminal organizations linked to illegal gold mining, customs authorities reported on Thursday.
WORLD
Jul 28, 2025
Smuggled mercury shows extent of illegal Amazon gold mining
Record gold prices have encouraged a flourishing illegal mining trade that damages local nature and biodiversity and is raising significant health concerns.
Marine biologist Teina Rongo on his boat passing the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, on June 12. Mining exploration has left many Cook Islanders such as Rongo fearing deep-sea mining could taint their precious ocean forever.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 23, 2025
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
Research vessels roam the seas around the Cook Islands in search of deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals.
Polymetallic nodules — bulbous lumps of rock that are rich in battery metals such as cobalt and nickel which carpet huge tracts of Pacific Ocean seabed — in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on June 12.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2025
Trump’s critical minerals obsession reignites deep-sea mining
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order expediting U.S. licensing of seabed mining, departing from international law.
A demonstrator holds the Mohawk Warrior Flag during a protest in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario against the federal government’s Bill C-5, as members of the Canadian Armed Forces fire cannons in the background during a celebration marking Canada Day in Toronto on July 1.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2025
Indigenous people in Canada challenge fast-track mine and energy projects
The tensions between the government and Indigenous communities reflect longstanding concerns over consultation and the environmental impact of mining projects in Canada.
A rare earth smelting workshop near the town of Damao in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2010. China is the world's largest producer of such minerals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 21, 2025
China quietly issues 2025 rare earth quotas, sources say
The quotas serve as a barometer for the global supply of rare earths, a group of 17 elements used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, robots and missiles.
Activists from Greenpeace protest deep-sea mining with an inflatable octopus and a banner that says "'Protect the deep sea" in Berlin earlier this month.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Jul 20, 2025
Restoring sea floor after mining may not be possible, researchers warn
One of the last wild zones on the planet, the sea floor is a coveted frontier for companies and countries eager to access high-demand minerals found there.
Rare earth magnets in Baotou, China. India is planning to spur local production of rare-earth magnets to cut its reliance on China.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2025
India plans to kickstart rare-earth magnet output to cut China reliance
China's tightening of export controls on rare earths amid a trade war with the U.S. has disrupted supply chains for global carmakers, including those operating in India.
A sample of gallium (Ga)
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2025
How U.S. buyers of critical minerals bypass China's export ban
Trade data illustrate a re-routing of U.S. shipments via third countries — an issue Chinese officials have acknowledged.
A satellite image shows an overview of new rare-earth mines in Myanmar's Shan state on May 6.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 8, 2025
China risks global heavy rare-earth supply to stop Myanmar rebel victory
China has threatened to halt buying the minerals mined in KIA-controlled territory unless the Kachin Independence Army stops trying to seize full control of a key town.
Japan's deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu is seen anchored at a pier in Shimizu port, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 2013.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025
Japan plans 'world first' deep-sea mineral extraction
Earlier this week the country pledged to work with the United States, India and Australia to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals.
Albin Enbacke is among the train drivers responsible for ferrying iron ore from the Kiruna mine.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
Sweden’s arctic railway prepares for a more militarized future
Should Finland’s border with Russia ever become an active front, the track would be one of the best ways for NATO to transport vehicles and supplies.
United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers march during a media display in Pansang, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar in 2016. The armed group controls one of the world's largest tin mines.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 12, 2025
China-backed militia secures control of new rare earth mines in Myanmar
Beijing is heavily reliant on Myanmar for the rare earth metals and oxides needed to produce magnets that power critical goods.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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